


Two half of one soul

by httphoodmills



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-24
Updated: 2017-11-24
Packaged: 2019-02-06 06:44:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 34,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12811887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/httphoodmills/pseuds/httphoodmills
Summary: Regina Mills is a princess who grew up in a Castle. Robin of Locksley is a thief who run away from his family. Everything seems to pull them apart, but can you really separate two half of one soul? Starts with some StableQueen. AU. Rating may change.





	1. When everything goes dark

**Author's Note:**

> So i decided to create an AOS account and to post this story here too, let's hope you guys still enjoy it!

Two half of one soul.

Ch. 1 - When everything goes dark.

.::.

The air is cold and, to be honest, so is she. She has been waiting in front of her wide open window for the past two hours, waiting. Waiting to see some lights on.

It wouldn't be easy to sneak out to see him tonight, even more so since her mother is here. In the hall, music can be heard, people dancing and laughing, but she isn't in the mood. She just needs to see him. He has been gone for two whole months and she has missed him too much to care about having a party when she can cuddle with him on his couch. Sighing, she admits to herself that if she has any hope of seeing him tonight, it won't be until after the ball; she knows she should enjoy herself in the meantime.

She's wearing a beautiful blue dress that every little could dream about, her hair are down and she has them on her left side, beautiful light blue pearls in them. Some people would say she is the fairest of them all, but her heart is taken. Not that anyone should know, though.

"Waiting for your stable boy to show, sis?"

Surprised, Regina turns her head to see her sister, Zelena. Saying they aren't really close would be an understatment but she has to admit, it feels good to have a sister, family, close or not.

The woman in question had beautiful red hair, curly and very was everything her mother could dream of, the perfect future queen except for her temper and her envious personnality. She too was wearing a long dress but this one was green, to match her eyes.

"How do you... know... about him?" She stammers, nervously. No one is supposed to know about Daniel.

"Oh come on, Regina. We've been taking riding lessons together for months and I've never seen you miss one! Besides, you should be more careful with your doe-eyes, I'm surprised mother hasn't caught on yet..."

"You didn't tell her? Now I'm surprised." Zelena always had a knack for making Regina look as bad as possible in front of their mother.

"Wouldn't want to ruin my little sister's life, now would I?"

Regina eyes her suspiciously, trying to see the truth in her sister's eyes. But she can't. To be honest, she has never been able to discern the reality from the fiction with Zelena.

"Yes, well, let's go back to the ball. I wouldn't want you to have to stay nice to me for too long, you wouldn't be able to be yourself afterwards," Regina exclaims, receiving a roll of her sister's eyes in return.

She throws one last glance to his house, hoping, once more, to see the lights, but he isn't there yet. She knows she shouldn't be worried about him, he is a grown up, but the fact that he was supposed to be home an hour ago does nothing to calm her down.

It doesn't take them long to get there, they barely have the time to notice the beautiful lights and the decoration of the room that of course, their mother is already on them.

"Hi girls, enjoying yourselves, I hope?"

If there was something anyone should know about Cora Mills, it was that she is determined. No one could say no to her and end up alive and well. Regina considered herself lucky to be her daughter and the one she chose to put so much hope and expectations in sometimes, at least it made Cora threat her in a way somehow... nicer than every other person in this world. Even her husband or her other daughter didn't get the chance to be threated nicely by Cora.

All she wanted was to give her daughter the life she never had the chance to have and no matter how hard Regina was trying to make her understand that she didn't want it, nothing could stop her. And of course, tonight was just as usual.

"Of course Mother, we couldn't be more proud to be there with you!" Zelena says in her typical overzealous fashion when around Cora Mills.

"Yes, I know," Mother brushes off, then faces Regina, "Dear, could you come with me? I have someone to introduce you to."

And here we go again, Regina thinks.

Every year, this exact same thing happens. She goes to the annual Summer Ball her parents host and, every year, her mother introduces her to young men of eligible to marry her. It could be a sweet act of love- if the true motive isn't just to get Regina to be the future queen. All those possible future husbands have all been royals or monarchs and, to be fair, none of them even had the decency to even hide the lust in their eyes as soon as she begun to shake her hands. They had not been her future husband and tonight's prospect would be no different, she'd make sure of that.

Regina follows Cora as they cross the crowd of the kingdom's residents, the pair ending up in her mother's bedchamber. When they enter the room, Regina's mother closes the door and leans against it, a grin - one too bright to not be suspicious - plastered across her face.

"I have great news!"

"What happened, Mother?"

"You're going to meet your fiancé- tonight!" Cora announces, clapping her hands together excitedly.

Meanwhile, Regina feels as if the breath has been stolen from her lungs, "Wait wh-what but... How?"

"Because he's coming?" Her mother says, as if news of a stranger being referred to as her berothed is completely normal and should be obvious.

"Mother, I'm certainly not going to marry someone just because 'he's coming'! That's absurd!"

" How dare you talk to me like that ? "

" If i'm going to be married at least i deserve to know why i'm engaged and how it happened ! "

Hesitation came in Cora Mills face, which surprised Regina. Since she was a little girl she had never seen any emotions on her mother's face, except maybe anger.

" What is happening ? She tried again "

" Let's say... you finally did the right thing. "

" What ? "

" Yesterday morning, when you had your riding lesson, you saw a girl in danger, you saved her and... "

" Wait no, no Zelena saved her i didn't you know that ? "

" Yes, yes, nevermind ! That girl was the king's daughter ! He was so grateful that he wanted to meet the woman who saved his girl and he is looking for a queen ! "

" But why don't you introduce him to Zelena she's the one... "

" Who saved his daughter i know but he loves brunettes you know and Zelena is already engaged to this rich noble, the prince James ! "

" But she could break the engagment she deserve it she sa... "

" Regina what did i teach you ? Never turn your back on opportunities ! You're going to marry him ! Now come, let's go meet him ! "

And with that, they went back in the ball, Regina trying her best to make her smile look genuine when all she wanted to do was cry. She had to see him tonight. She had to find a way to run. She felt like she couldn't breathe. Everyone looked so casual but why did she feel like all eyes were on her ? Just as if what she had in mind could be read on her face ? Nervously, she tried to fit in the ball all the while thinking of ways she could say no to that engagment, in vain.

.::.

Not far from the Castle, was Robin of Locksley. A man who always considered himself as a man of honor. And if you asked anybody who knew him personnally, they are going to say so. He couldn't go back to where he was from but he could serve his, their, cause. So tonight he was going to that ball. Even if he was still curently laying on the dirt in the forest, he was going to do what he had to. He wasn't used to behave this way, he always had been the nice one in his family but tonight it was gonna change. Sighing, he kneeled when he found his place, watching the palace and waiting for the perfect time.

.::.

" Daniel ! Daniel ? "

" Regina ? "

" Daniel you're back ! "

Regina ran into the arms of the man she loved. She had missed him too much those last two months and now she needed him. How did she become so addicted to him ? Her last sense of freedom ? She had no idea but here it was. The good news was he loved her just as much. He was handsome. His short brown her, his beautiful eyes... He interrupted her dreams by finally answering her.

" Oh Regina, i missed you ! " He said, breathing her in, circling his arms around her waist, she was his whole world.

" We have to go, we have to go now !she said, tears already forming in her eyes. "

" What no, Regina what's going on ? "

" Yesterday my sister saved a girl from the river behind your house, i didn't thought much of it at first but... she is the king's daughter ! And he is looking for a queen ! Of course you know my mother, since Zelena is engaged my mom forced me to pretend to be the one who saved her so i can become queen... "

" Regina that's nonsense, she would remember that it was Zelena ? "

" The ball just ended, she told me that she could trick her mind with magic that's not a problem but the king, he's on his way, if he is going to propose she wouldn't understand if i said no to him, please Daniel we have to run... "

" Regina you know i can't leave, what am i gonna do with my little sister ? And my mom ? They need me, they need the money i win here i'm the only one able to work... but we have to find another way, you can't marry him... "

" If i don't run away i will have no choice... "

" Then you have to leave. Without me. "

" What ?! No ! That's nonsense ! "

" I can't leave Regina and you can't get married you... "

She couldn't believe this. It was basically as if her whole world was falling apart right in front of her eyes. Where they destined to end up not together ? In different places ? Maybe even world ? No. This couldn't be true. She was determined to find a way.

" No. that's out of the question i'm not leaving without you. "

He closed his arms around her, one seeking confort in her. He couldn't let this happen, he just couldn't.

" I'm gonna say yes... " she whispered

" are you out of your mind ?! " He almost yelled at her

" I'm gonna say yes, i'm gonna marry him and... i'm going to become queen. We're going to live here and i will sneak out at night to see you... we don't have any other choice Daniel and i will be able to pay you more so you can help your sister and your mother and when they will be safe, we will run away together... "

" But what about your mother ? And the King ? They will kill us if they find us Regina... "

" I'm ready to take the risk if you are... Daniel, i love you and i want to spend my life by your side... i don't care if we are constantly hiding and running away from them i just can't live in this castle forever, i have to go... "

" You will wait for me... ? "

" If he proposes i'm going to say yes and make my mother proud for the first time ever, then... "

" Regina i can't let you do this ! "

" Do you have a better idea ? "

" I might have... How about, you say yes but you don't actually get married ? "

" What ? "

" Try to get time, try to avoid the wedding, at any cost, and when we will be able to we will run away together ! "

" … Well, Mister Colter, looks like you got yourself a deal ! " She said, smiling genuinly for the first time of the evenning.

And then he kissed her. Passionnately. He couldn't let her marry the king, he won't. She was his, and only his. At that moment, he hated her mother so much he was seeing red. How could one do something like this to their own daughter ? No matter what Regina said or thought, he couldn't let anyone get their hands on her or hurt her. She was his to protect and he was going to do his job.

When she left, she turned back and gave him one of her magnificent smile and went back to her family.

.::.

When the king came into the house an hour later, she was relieved. She had a plan, and no matter what was her mother's dream for, she had hers and it was happening. He introduced himself and they spend a few hours talking about all sort of things. If she had to be honest, he wasn't a bad guy. He was actually quite smart and nice, but there was a difference between liking someone and loving someone. For a moment, she thought she could escape the proposal, that is until he got on one knee in front of her.

" I need a woman... who cares about my daughter as much as i do... and who should be smart, kind and beautiful just like you are... so Regina Mills, will you marry me ? "

She couldn't breathe. How was she supposed to look happy about this ? Her head, her heart, every part of her screamed no and urged her to get away. She tried to buy some time breathing in and out. Trying to imagine Daniel on his knees in front of her to calm down but it wasn't working. And he was still there, waiting for an answer. Time to act, mills !

" Yes.. yes... " she whispered, doing her best to hide her despair.

He placed the ring on her finger and hugged her. He actually hugged her. As if things weren't awkward enough.

She was so angry !

All she wanted to do was run, far away from all this misery and start her life with Daniel. But she couldn't. They had a plan and she had to go with it, no matter how painful it was.

Everything happened so fast after that.

.::.

The king had left, saying he had to take care of everything in his castle. Regina hadn't seen her sister since her mother told her her plan and she wasn't sure if she wanted to. Zelena probably hated her guts for taking credits of her actions anyways.

Everyone was either already asleep, the ball had exhausted everyone, either in their apartment. Except for Cora who was currently cleaning the last remains of the night.

When Regina came to help her, she told her that she was proud of her and she couldn't believe it. She knew it was coming, but she couldn't believe it. For the first time ever, she heard a compliment from her mother and it felt really good. She surprised herself when she realized that she wished her mother could say nice things to her more easily instead of repeating her how disappointed she was in her. Maybe she could make her understand ? Oh, who was she kidding, Cora Mills doesn't understand anything about chosing love and happiness. She only hoped she could find a way to have her mother be a part of her life, even though her expectations were pretty low at this point.

If only she knew.

They were going to bed when it happened.

When they crossed the balcony, a black Arrow came hitting Cora right in her heart.

Regina gasped and caught her mother who was falling on the ground. When she realized what just happened, she let out a scream. Her shaking hands quickly got covered in blood.

Her mother's blood.

This couldn't be happening.

.::.

The murderer was smiling coldly. Mission accomplished. He hadn't seen who was with his target because of the hoodie he was wearing but he didn't care, he had what he wanted. Actually, he could even think that he was safe, he had the perfect plan. Afer all, who could know who he was ? He wasn't the type of person to kill anyone, but this time he had to make an exception.

.::.

Regina took her mother in her arms, crying and screaming for help but when she saw her mother close her eyes, she knew. It was too late.

.::.

Robin was running in the forest, trying to find a place to hide. He actually had done it,he had helped them when he had sweared he wouldn't be a part of those civil wars anymore... But right now, he couldn't care less. He succeeded.

When he came back to his men's camp, he was out of breath and clearly still high on... he didn't even know. Was it just the thrill of it ? Happiness ?

He was just to excited to care at this point.


	2. Fate

Two half of one soul.

Ch. 2 - Fate.

.::.

Regina Mills hated funerals. Not that anyone could like them anyways, but she hated to see people she cared about crying, sad or even depressed. That's just who she is, "too nice" if you listened to her sister. The worse part was days like this where it was someone she loved and the room was full of people she cared about. Of course, she tried not to cry and to stay strong but it she knew it was pointless. As soon as she was going to see the casket she would feel weak in the knees and her eyes would fill with tears. In a sense, she almost felt relieved knowing that all the pressure her mother had put on her shoulders was now gone and she didn't have to endure all the barely disguised criticism. Guilt started in her stomach. How could she feel relief in her mother's murder ? It was probably just as bad as if she killed her herself.

You are so ungrateful, whispered her mother's voice in her head.

Was she ? She missed Cora, of course, and she loved her dearly, but could she get the blame for not wanting to hear how much of a disappointment she was everyday ? She didn't think so, but apparently her conscience decided otherwise. If things were different, maybe she wouldn't be the mess she was today. But they weren't. Now all Regina could only think about was the torment of emotions she was in. She felt relieved, sad, guilty, nervous, awkward... For the first time ever she actually wished she could talk to her sister, even though she doubted Zelena could understand her.

Sighing, she quickly made sure that her dress wasn't too long or too tight and she got dressed, careful not to tear her stockings apart.

Soon she was going to be with all her family and their friends, she would not be able to think about something else than putting up her mask and hide her emotions. So she allowed herself these five minutes to let herself feel them. Not matter how wrong they were.

The brunette took a look at herself in the mirror. She was wearing her most formal black dress made of silk. It was tight, covered her arms and was long enough that it went up to the ground. Her back was visible and the dress had some floral decorations behind which made it look classy. She let her curvy hair down on the right side of her neck and added some earings with diamonds on it. Should she put on any make up? She decided that no, she was going to be sad today anyways. Might as well let her outside reflect her inner spirit, even if it meant looking terrible, or at least less beautiful, for a day. Mother would be proud she thought when she looked at her reflection, even if she wouldn't like the lack of make up. She took her black shoes with high heels and after a last glance at herself in the mirror she left her room to intend her mother's funerals.

.::.

When she entered the living room the king was here with his daughter, waiting for her. Great, she thought. What was he doing anyways? He barely knew her mother. Oh, right. She forgot. He was her fiancé. Maybe now that her mother was gone she could find a way to talk to him and make him understand that she had no intention of marrying him? Leopold was known to be a kind a fair man surely he would listen to her... right?

With that thought in my mind she walked over him, gathering her courage. She made her presence known by clearing her throat. When he saw her, the way he looked at her made her so uncomfortable she felt sick. He look at her as if she was the meal he was about to eat. That lustful look quickly disappeared though, maybe he finally had the sense to remember where exactly they were headed?

"Your Honor? May I speak with you for a moment?" She asked softly.

"Of course love" he said, turning to Snow he added "dear, could you please inform the guards that we will be leaving soon? I don't think we will be long."

Nodding, Snow left whistling happily, having no clue of the inner battle that was happening inside Regina. Was she really about to ask the King to take back his proposal? When he counted on her so badly to take care of Snow? Yes; it seemed like she was.

She gave herself a moment to look at him. He wasn't much taller than her,he had short grey curvy hair. He was wearing his crown, not that it surprised her. During almost the entire week he was there, she never saw him without it. What was it about it she wondered? Was it a need to brag and show people who he was, how rich and powerful he was? Or did he just loved it too much to let it go? Regina had no idea but it didn't really mattered. He gave her a few secondes before he broke the uncomfortable silence they were in.

"Regina? You wanted to talk to me?"

"Yes... Yes my king, I..." she stammered, nervously. "It's about... that day, when we met... you asked me to marry you because I saved your daughter but... It wasn't me... It was my sister, Zelena... and i'm afraid..." He didn't let her finish.

"Oh, beautiful it's alright! I know you can care for Snow just as much as I do and the fact that your sister saved her instead of you doesn't change that! I only have eyes for you anyways..."

Oh, yes, lustful eyes. She thought. And when did she start disliking that man so much? She had so much respect for him, for his title and for his reign, when did all of that turned into annoyance? Probably when he proposed to her.

"It's not just that it's... Your majesty you are a kind and fair man, you deserve someone who can truly love you and care about you as well as your daughter. Unfortunately, i'm afraid..."

"Dear let's just talk about that later shall we?" he answer, an evil smirk planted on his face. 

"You're not thinking straight with the ceremony coming up, I understand, as i understand that your mother took the decision for you to marry me. I promise you i will think about it but now is not the time, I will come to you after the ceremony. "

Scared and dizzy, the only answer Regina was able to give him was a slight nod before she left the room as fast as possible, telling him that she was going to check on Snow when really she just wanted to be as far away from him as she possibly could.

.::.

"Robin, man we're going hunting do you want to join us?"

Layed down in his tent, Robin was tempted to just pretend that he was asleep so he could ignore his men and not have to get up but that was without counting on Little John who right after he asked his question invited himself in. So of course, he couldn't pretend. Great.

"Thank you for asking little John but i'm just not in the mood for that today." he answered truthfully, hoping his friend would understand.

"Oh, come on mate you haven't been hunting with us since forever we wouldn't want you to get rusty, and you've been in such a great mood the whole week I thought maybe..."

"Do you even remember what day it is?" stated Robin, lowly; his voice full of bitternessas he sat up to look at his friend in the eyes.

"Of course I remember, that's another reason why you have to come with us, It will change your mind and maybe you'll feel better..." said his friend, putting a hand on his shoulder.

He considered. Maybe Little John was right. It had indeed been a while since he had gone hunting with his merry men, if they wanted to keep being the team they used to be they had to work together. It could also really change his mind and give him a welcom distraction, but did he even deserve it? The misery he was in today was utterly and completely his fault and he could only blame himself. When he started living in the woods 15 years ago, he made the mistake of bringing Marian Faccen with him. She was his girlfriend and she wanted to follow him. Anywhere she said. Little did she know that she would do so at her own peril. When Robin started being a thief she had wanted to stay by his side and it was during a mission that she accidentally got shot and died a few days later. Today marked the 5th anniversary of her death. Usually, Robin just stayed in his tent and hated on himself until he could calm down enough to get out, which was usually not until the next day. He knew he should move on eventually. Learn to forgive himself and find someone else, and maybe it was that guilt that pushed to do was his family wanted him to do for the first time ever last week but he was stuck with the memory of her smile, of her long brown curly hair in which he could burry his finger. He missed her, terribly. But today was going to be different he decided. He was going to go hunt with is men and put the past behind him.

"You're right..." he then said to his friend. "let's hope it will work, give me a few minute to get ready and i'll join you outside so we can go."

"Of course." nodded Little John before he left the tent.

.::.

When she arrived to the place where the ceremony was going to be, Regina felt as if someone stabbed her in the chest and for the first time in a week, she realised that her mother was gone. Before she left she was relieved that she didn't have to listen to the thousand arguments she had to tell her how much of a wasted potential she was and how much she had to get married. But now... Now the fact that she lost the woman to whom she owed her life and who, even if she did it wrong, truly tried to give her a good life. Not matter what their relationship was, Regina liked to think that she had a special place in her mother's heart. Along with Zelena and her father. Even if she didn't like to show it.

Much to her surprise there was actually a lot of people at the summer palace for Cora. She took the time to say hi to the main part and went to take a sit in the front rows as the ceremony was about to start. At the sight of the casket, as she predicted, tears formed into her eyes and she had to fight hard not to let them fall. She had so much regrets, the first being that her relationship with her mother was so complicated. The priest said a lot of beautiful things during the funerals, not everything was hundred percent true, but Regina was glad he did it that way. His first reaction had been to ask her if she wanted to say something but she politely declined his offer. What was she supposed to say anyway? That she loved her mother but she was pissed at her most of the time because their relationship was complicated and that she kept critisizing her for everything single thing she did? She had too much respect for her mother to say such things in front of an audience.

Her father and Zelena both said a few words about how determined and strong the famous Cora Mills was. She couldn't deny that this was true. It was probably the reason she still looked up to some achievments her mother did and was trying to stop disappointing her, to be worthy of her pride. But she supposed it wasn't meant to be.

When the speeches had been said and the father Luck had finished the ceremony, her father got up once again and went close to the casket. Once in front of it, he just kneeled for a few second. He then put a hand on it and said goodbye. When he left, everyone got in line to go and say a few words privately and say goodbye to Cora. Regina even saw Zelena in the line, teary-eyed and head up, proud as mother taught her to be. At first, she had no intention of going. But then, someone came and sat next to her, putting their hands on her shoulder. She turned around, ready to glare at that person until they went away but she was surprise to see that it was in fact Daniel. She wanted to hug him. To just crush him against her and let him hold her for as long as he could to try and find comfort. But she couldn't. No one knew about them and the king was only a few rows behind. He already didn't looked thrilled about the discussion they had earlier, if she wanted a chance to get away or for him to let her go, he couldn't know about him. So instead she just took his hand in her own and smiled at him with tears in her eyes.

"Daniel ? What are you doing here?"

"I couldn't let you get through today alone. Come with me." he answered, taking her in the line to the casket

"I... I don't want to I have nothing to say..." she whispered, trying to hide the emotions behind her voice

"This is the last occasion you have to say goodbye to your Mother Regina, despite who she was and what she did she's still the woman who gave birth to you and you have to say goodbye before it's too late or it will haunt you forever."

So she stayed in the line. Hanging on to Daniel's hand for all she was worth until it was her turn. He stayed a few feets behind, wanting to give her some privacy but also reminding her that if she needed him he was just there. She came close, put a hand on the casket and tried to breathe. She couldn't. Tears were burning her eyes. Maybe if she just... One tear... She would allow just one tear to fall and then she would put her mask back on and pretend that she was okay.

Or not.

A tear became two and before she knew it she was sobbing, her knees getting weak and Daniel barely caught her before she fell on the ground. He hugged her for a few seconds and then, without letting go of her, he took her out of the church. He guided her to the left side of the building where there wasn't anybody lucky for them and gave her the time to calm down. He never stopped hugging her and kissing her temple, soothing her in any way he could. Until she felt better.

"Thank you..." she whispered when she got a hold on her voice.

"It's nothing Regina. I will always be here for you, no matter what."

She took a few more minutes, wrapped in her bubble with Daniel and she got back to her father. She hugged him tight and looked at Zelena who had been crying if her red puffy eyes were telling anything.

"okay i'm going to hug you now because you are my sister and even if our relationship isn't always the best I still love you." she told her with a shaky voice.

And then she did just that.

Until the King came to them, forcing them to break their embrace.

"Dear i'm sorry to interrupt but can I talk to you for a moment please?" He said, before turning to Zelena. "Alone?"

"Of course." Zelena answered before she and her father went to bid the guests goodbye.

A few moments past before Regina was able to look at the king in the eyes, she knew It was all about what she started earlier and she truly hope he took a decision. The good decision.

"Your honor, if this is about earlier..." she started, but he didn't let her finish.

"Ah, yes it is in fact about what you told me earlier." He said, smiling with that same devilish look in his eyes. "Regina, I''m sure I don't need to remind you that love is weakness" he continued lowly, threatiningly. "Your mother gave you an opportunity and giving it all away is just as foolish as believing you can run away with the stable boy you think no one knows about."

So he did see Daniel. Regina shivered. If she had any hope that Leopold was a good man before, she couldn't be more wrong. He wasn't going to understand. He wasn't going to let her go. Worse, he knew all about her mother plan and he very well intended to keep it on track even with her being dead. She couldn't breathe. Her mind was racing, trying to come up with an answer, another way to get her out of this marriage, but was there even one?

"i... I don't know what you are talking about, my king..." she answered after a while. "there's no one I just don't think i'm..." Once again he interrupted her.

He came dangerously close to her, gripping her arm and pulling her closer to him  
.  
"Listen to me you little girl. I'm not stupid, do you hear me? I'm the king of this land and i'm used to having what I want whenever I want to. And the thing is : I want you, so you're going to play along, be my wife, be the great mother I know you can be to Snow and everything is going to be just fine isn't it?"

Maybe it was her fault? Maybe she just deserved it, who knows? All she was certain of was that she had to get away to get out of this place, far from him to a place where no one from her past could come and haunt her. But for now, he informed Regina that they were leaving for the Castle and that all her belonging had been travelling during the ceremony and that the carriaged was waiting for her and her family.

The brunette felt as if her world was falling apart. Everything stood still for a second and she had to remind herself to keep breathing. The tears came back in her eyes. It took her a few second before she was able to give any kind of answer to Leopold, who kept starring at her, waiting for her to say something. She gave him a fake smile and nodded and then followed her father and her sister in the carriage. Hitting the road to her new life.

.::.

Trying to stay as silent as he could, Robin was hiding behind a tree trying to kill a doe that was just passing by. When his arrow hit her mark he smirked before he went collecting his price. 

He truly never missed. He dragged the beast in the woods until he got to a lake where he found a cabin. Perfect, he thought. He quickly went inside and started a fire, getting the doe ready to for dinner. He probably should have told his men that he was going further that they use to but he would just go back to camp in a few hours with some warm meat, they will probably forgive him.

.::.

The road to the castle went by smoothly for Regina. Nobody talked, everyone still going through the harsh, mixed and difficult emotions of the day. She kept starring out of the window, watching the landscape change from small and poor villages to forest and to the ocean. She was thinking about Daniel. What would be his reaction when he was going to realize that she wasn't coming back? Would he come for her? Would he understand that the king didn't give her the choice to say goodbye? God she hoped he would. She needed his help to get out of here. She had no intention of getting trapped in a loveless marriage to an awful man such as Leopold.

Sooner that she thought, the Castle appeared. She had to admit, it looked truly beautiful and majestic. Maybe in other circumstances she would be happy to come here? She quickly woke up her father who fell asleep at some point during the road so he could have some time before he had to get out of the carriage. Zelena actually looked like a child at christmas which didn't surprise Regina.

When they arrived, they were welcomed by the King and some guards who showed them their chambers where all their belongings were waiting and they had dinner. She quickly realize that the more the King was drinking, the more he was talking and when her father and her sister went to sleep early, tired of the long and emotional day, she used it to her advantage. She learned that he liked fishing every so often and that he even had a small cabin near a lake where he used to spend some nights when he was younger and it was getting late for him to get back to the castle. That was a good thing. A very good thing.

She quickly excused herself, pretending to be tired too and went to her room. Once there, she prepared some clothes, a knife and a few fruits that she took in the kitchen on her way back from dinner and changed. She decided that a leather pant and a simple without riding shirt would be enough and sneaked out, took the direction of the lake.

.::.

During her walk, Regina thought about a plan. It was easy enough actually, she was going to sneak some food, weapons and clothes to the cabin when she could get out of the castle alone and would take just enough money with her to travel to another land, maybe another world who knows. When she would have enough of everything, she was just going to pretend she was feeling ill, wanted to stay in her bedroom for the day and was not to be disturbed. Then she would just sneak out the way she did tonight, she would get back to the lake, get her stuff and leave. Perfect plan. If it worked. Which wasn't so sure, but she had to believe it was going to work.

When she got to the lake she was surprised to smell some fresh meat and to see some smoke getting out of the cabin. Was there someone inside? She crossed the distance between her and the door and got inside. Yes, someone was here. A fire was still burning, an old satchel was on the table, some remainings of an animal were dropped in front of the fireplace and a man was sleeping on the couch. She wondered if he was homeless, if he could actually harm her. Looking at the remainings she thought that yes, yes he probably could. Unfortunately for her, that's the moment he started to wake up.

Her mind was racing.

Was she supposed to just get out of here and run right back to the castle?

But too late. He saw her.

Startled, he let out a gasp and quickly got up, taking the knife he used on whatever beast he brought with him and which was at his feet, pointing it at her.

"Whoever you are I have no intention on hurting you I just needed a place to stay for a bit after my men and I went hunting." he stated, in all seriousness

"You and your men? Are you having hallucinations or did they abandoned you after you fell asleep?" she said, lifting an eyebrow and eyeing him doubtfully.

"They just... We've been separated during the hunt." he stammered "Now who are you?"

She couldn't tell that man who she was. For the simple reason that he could very well be a friend of the King's or just go to him and tell him that some woman tried to get into his cabin to get a reward and she couldn't risk it. But as she looked at him, his blond hair blue eyes, well-built body, something pushed her to tell him the truth. So she decided to tell him just a part of it.

"Just... call me Regina. This cabin is mine and since you seem to have enjoyed it so much, i'm going to ask for a thank you and nicely tell you to get your stuff and get out."

"Oh... Sassy, I love that." He said, grinning. Clearly, he was gaigning his confidence back. "Give me a few minutes and I will be gone."

He took back all the remainings of the beast, his satchel and everything else and in the blink of an eye he was ready to go. He planted a kiss on her hand and started to leave. He turned around when he was at the door and said

"The name is Robin, by the way. I'm glad to have crossed path with a lovely lady like you." and he winked.

Something flashed inside Regina. He was clearly used to the woods and he wasn't alone. 

Maybe he could help her to get away from here or at least show her a way once she had everything ready? God what am I doing, she thought, I don't even know him!

"Wait!" she said, "you... seem to travel... a lot?"

"Uh... yes, yes I do." he said, turning back.

"Well then I have a deal for you."

"A deal? And what do you have to offer milady?"

"Closing my eyes on what just happened?" she said, once again lifting an eyebrow and smirking at him. She crossed her arms on her chest.

Robin considered. He knew he was already in trouble with all the stealing and hunting he was making in the sherwood forest. If he was caught breaking in a cabin, it would totally not help his case. Apparently he didn't have any choice.

"Ah, yes, it appears you do have something to offer." he said, getting back a little closer to her. "So tell me, what's that deal you're offering?"

Regina spend the next hour trying to explain that she was in a difficult situation and that she had to get away. That she would need some time to get everything ready and that his part was to help her to leave this land, maybe even this world. He seemed content with that. They both agreed not to tell each other more about who they actually were to be safer and that everytime they needed to meet it would be here. With that in mind, Robin returned at the camp with meat for his mates and Regina got back to the castle, knowing that she may have found a way out of this wedding after all.


	3. Who you trust

Two half of one soul.

 

Ch. 3 - Who you trust.

 

.::.

 

“And you really feel like this is a good plan?” he asked, doubtfully, “i mean i know you are everything but a common future queen but still, sword-fight your knights to get out of the castle, hoping that the king doesn’t find out too soon and just asking me to find you a horse, wait for you near the gates and then flying to the sunset together…”

 

Groaning, Regina let her head fall on the table of her little cabin. Frustration tensing her features and anger making it’s way to her brain.

 

“I know this is stupid” she snapped, not even bothering to try and cover just how annoyed she was with the whole situation. “it’s been a week Robin, a week and i just need to feel like are actually getting somewhere. Now instead it’s like i’m stuck in the same situation since forever!”

 

“Regina you said it youself, it’s been a week since we both agreed to find a way for you to escape this marriage and be reunited with the man you love, let’s not forget that it’s the first we found the time to actually get here and work on something and we haven’t been there for more than an hour! Now i know i may be a thief who travels a lot and you seem smart but we are talking about escaping the king’s castle!”

 

Sighing, Regina stood up to look outside the window. He was right. She knew he was. In her mind, her life was the complete contrary of the one she was living now. She would lie if she said that she was totally over her mother’s death. Every day, she could almost see her gloat in the castle’s hallway, smiling at everyone as if she owned the place. But her mother was not here. How would it even be possible to feel someone’s grip so strongly even after their death? And yet it was. When she opened her eyes every morning, she could feel herself slipping away, giving in to the sweet temptation of closing herself up. She wished she could at least see Daniel sometimes, but it was too risky and he knew that. He used to be the light during her  _ dark “my-mother-hates-me”  _ days but now that she needed him to get over her  _ “the-king-is-a-horrible-human-being”  _ she wasn’t, couldn’t be, here. And God knows she needed to get over it, she was the queen and as much as she hated it it also meant doing her duty and being a good wife, a good mother to Snow and a graceful ruller for the kingdom. 

She tried to do that, she tried to do that for a week now and no matter how hard she tried, how much she wanted it to work it wouldn’t. She had to escape, if only for her mental sanity.

 

“You’re right”, she finally said after minutes of silentes that seemed to be hours “i know you are, but just  think about it from my point of view for a minute, i’m empty, numb. It’s been only a week and i already feel like it’s been years.”

 

“Yes well i know something about that, but you can’t rush everything Regina, if you want your plan to work it needs to be perfect.” He said, making her turn around and look at him doubtfully with an eyebrow raised and her arms crossed.

“You seriously think there is a way for us to come up with a plan that could be qualified as  _ perfect  _ to escape the king’s castle? Do you realise that coming up with such a plan could take… i don’t know, maybe years?” She couldn’t believe what he just said. of course, she knew she couldn’t go with a plan that didn’t wasn’t prepared but she also knew that she couldn’t afford to wait months to get away. The wedding preparations had already started, Snow White was already referring to her as her new “mom” and even though she liked the girl she was not ready to be a mother.

 

“I mean not  _ perfect  _ but at least prepared.” the relieved sigh she let out almost made him chuckle, that woman was definetely decided to get away from her life. “how about that, you find us as many information as you can about the knights of the castle, how they work and if you can somethings they like or that could distract them.”

 

“How do you want me to find-” she interrupted him but he raised his hand in a simple gesture, as to ask her to let him finish before she asked whichever question crossed her mind.

 

“ _ You just find as many information as you can  _ while i will talk to my men and we will try to come up with a plan to get you out of there safely, we will take you to the borders of the sherwood forest and then we will continue separately.” 

 

Okay. Okay, that might actually be a good idea, yes it would take her longer than she originally thought but at least there was a good chance that it could work. She didn’t know much about this man except that his name was Robin and that he was thief, but he was a thief he obviously had some experiences breaking into places, didn’t he? And yes, finding information about the guards without getting caught would not be easy at all but she could do that. A smiled crossed her features, she wasn’t sure yet that she could  _ trust  _ him but things were actually getting somewhere. Life requests some begginings, right?

 

“This might be a good idea” she said, “i have no idea how i’m going to find these information about the king’s knights but i will find a way eventually.”

 

Agreeing, Robins started to pack his stuff and got almost ready to leave but something got back to ger. He said he knew how it felt like to be empty, numb, to not feel anything. She knew they both agreed to not share any personal details of their life with each other to be safer but now she was curious. Didn’t he mentioned that he was perfectly happy in his life? Stealing stuff and hanging out with his men? Then again maybe he wasn’t feeling like she did anymore and she was just getting paranoid. But she couldn’t help it. Now that he dropped an hint, she needed to know more about the man she trusted enough to ask him help to escape the castle.

 

“Wait!” she exclaimed, a bit louder than she intended, “i… i wanted to ask you… uh…”

 

He stopped walking as soon as he heard her voice. He took a breath, sensing that the question she wanted to ask was not a question she was supposed to ask and finally turned around. Almost immediately his eyes found hers and he tried to reassure her as much as he could “yes?” he said, almost a whisper, fearing to break their first real moment. “what did you want to ask me?”

 

“I.. You… You said you know how it felt like, to feel empty and… i am known to be curious.” she answered, smiling softly. She didn’t know what came over her, she usually waited for a few weeks for the deep and emotional conversations and learning to know that man would not do her any good, the least she needed was to get attached, be friends with him and having to say goodbye once the day would come. 

 

He chuckled, amused by the way she was  _ not so subtly  _ trying to know him, even if she didn’t want to.

 

“Yes Milady, i actually do.” He started, with a soft smile too, “and since i am in no hurry to get back to my camp i can tell you a bit about that but given that we both agreed to not know each other, i won’t tell much. Would that be satisfying enough for you?” 

 

“I think it could be, yes.” She was laughing now.

 

With her agreement, Robin put his stuff next to the wooden table and sat in front of the fireplace, trying to get warm before the coldness of the forest would hit him later. he waited for her to join him, which she did soon enough and for a moment, they both just sat there, looking at the fire, lost in their own thoughts. Thights barely brushing, both acutely aware of the other closeness. Outside, we could hear the wind raging, probably reflecting their minds, trying to find out where exactly where the limits were. And then he started talking, breaking the silence.

 

“When i was 18, my father had these crazy ideas about the way a kingdom, the whold land, should be ruled. He was a smart man but let’s just say that his ideas were a bit… different, from my point of view. I can’t really tell much more without giving everything away as we agreed but needless to say we used to fight a lot. He wanted me to take parts in his actions, i couldn’t stomach even the thought of it. He took me with him one day to show me how a man

like me was supposed to behave. The least you could say was that it was torture, it showed me everything i didn’t want to be… During these… couple of hours, i felt nothing. It was like my mind closed itself and i was numb; in denial, maybe?”

 

He took a moment, then. Either to give himself a chance to pull himself back together or to let her take in what she just heard, she didn’t know but the two things happened. God, what could’ve happened on that day? If she was perfectly honest, she felt even more curious now that she did before but she was the one offering that they wouldn’t say anything too personal to each other. And she was fine with it. Absolutely fine. She just had to go through this conversation without asking anymore questions, and she would be fine.   
She turned to look at him then, finally, and she realised how tensed he was. He may have agreed to talk about it, he may even feel better today, but it was clearly still a sore point for him. So she put her hand on his, smiled softly at him, reassuring him that she was not judging him. If fate decided that they would have to part ways in the next few weeks, it didn’t mean that they couldn’t support and help each other during the time they had together. She opened her mouth to speak, to try and say something that could cheer him up but then she realized : he wasn’t finished. There was more he wanted to share, she could tell. And she could also tell that he was hesitating because he didn’t want to share too much, he wanted to respect their agreement. And no, she couldn’t have that, they made an agreement yes, but he seemed like a nice guy and if they had to break some rules to talk it through then they would. So she squeezed his hand and when he looked at her she nodded slowly, to end his hesitation and giving him the green light to share more about his story. He smiled in return and then resumed talking.

 

“As you imagined, i couldn’t get over that easily.” he sighed, and whatever happened on that day she wasn’t sure she wanted to know what it was. “even though our relationship was already… rocky, to say the least, it started getting even worse after that. We fought almost everyday, he couldn’t accept that my opinion was different than his. To be honest i think he just wanted what’s best for me, he just had a weird conception of what the best thing was… I tried to just… change, to fit in, but i couldn’t. So i ran. It took me two years to create the perfect plan and now my whole family thinks i am dead and i shouldn’t but i feel better about it. When i left, i needed to eat which is why i became a thief and then i was lucky enough to find my men… I can’t really say more about that or it would give too much away but… here you go. The reason i told you i knew something about feeling numb.”

 

“I’m… sorry it seems quite a dark story i had no idea i wouldn’t have asked if i knew…” She whispered, still looking at him in the eyes, her hand still on his, as comfort.

 

“But now you have to tell me something about you” He said, changing the subject for his own sanity, “i mean you’re trying to escape the king’s castle to get back to the man you love. Even though if we don’t succeed i will hear all about you at the same time as the people, on your wedding day, but i would prefer to hear it from you.”

 

“Robin we said-” Because what could she say that wouln’t completely give away her identity? The future queen? The daughter of the woman that everyone in this land called the heart controller? The sister of the woman who was to marry the noble prince James? No, it was too risky.

 

“I know what we said” he interrupted, smiling now, “and i don’t want you to break the rules, i just want you to share a story, i shared one it’s only fair right?” 

 

“Maybe…” she eyed him, as if trying to find any trace of lies in his eyes but he was completely honest and that’s probably the reason she decided to cave. Just this once. “It was a few years ago, i only turned 16 and my last crisis was that i needed a horse.” He started laughing then, turning away from her for a second. “Hey, it’s not funny!”

 

“I’m sorry,” he said, finally stopping but still amused. “It’s just… The young woman, wanting to ride a horse, it’s like i always knew, it’s so…”

“Cliché?” she answered

 

“Yes”, he admitted, “kind of, but cute!”

 

“What a compliment!” She said, smirking, “i knew you were capable of nice things!” when he returned her smile, she decided to go on with her story. “So i wanted a horse, i was fascinated by them and i still have no idea why, but for my mother the only reasonable way to have a horse was to learn with someone professional and start to win some great competitions so she hired someone to teach me and to take care of my horse while i was busy doing other things. We got really close quickly and i got really talented but i kept lying to my mother about it because i knew that she would fire him as soon as i reached a level that she deemed acceptable and he was… let’s just say i wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for him. But i’m going to stop there because if i continue it might… give it away, i’m sorry it’s just safer to go on like this…”

 

“No no it’s fine” he said, as soon as she finished telling her story, “it’s actually adorable, i do hope your mother got better with time but i’m glad to you found something, or rather someone, to help you get through this. It’s always easier when you’re not alone.” 

 

“It is, it really is.” she simply said, “but i kept you here long enough, you should get back your friends will worry about you.” she smiled, standing up to get ready to leave herself. 

 

Truth to be told, she didn’t really want to leave. For the first time in a week, she felt better and she felt like someone could actually realise she existed. She knew she had to go though, the King was about to get back home and she was supposed to be there to welcome him back. 

 

“Oh, no don’t worry my men do care about me but i’m not sure they care that much”, he said, chuckling and standing up himself, getting his stuff back, “It was a pleasure to see you Regina and remember, try to find as much information as you can about the guards and we will meet again next week, same moment, if that’s fine with you of course?” 

 

“Sure, i will be coming down here a couple of times this week so if anything happens or if you can’t make it just leave one of your arrow here and i will know!” She said, giving him her hand.

 

“I will, Ma’am!” He said, winking before he took her hand and shook it.

 

.::.

 

On her way back to the castle, Regina tried to figure out a way to get information about the knights without getting caught by the king. Did he even keep a record of all the knights name? She had no idea, but if there was a change that he did, she had to get her hand on it. But then again, the whole point would be not getting caught. Given that every time she tried to sneak out to see Daniel in the stables either her mother or her father knew about it and tried to stop her, she doubted that she was going to get successful. But she had to try, if that plan worked she could finally be free and get back to the man she loved.

 

As she was completely lost in her thoughts and the beautiful forest sight that was offered to her, Regina was surprised to hear a noise behind her. It was almost as if someone stepped on a branch and broke it. She froze. What if someone from the castle had followed her to the cabin and knew about her plan to escape? No. No it couldn’t be possible she has been very careful and was extra cautious to not get caught. 

 

When she turned around, the brunette realised that it wasn’t anyone from the castle actually. It was a little fox, very young if her lessons taught her anything about animals. He seemed scared and only had his skin on his bones. If she wasn’t mistaken, he seemed famished and she prayed to God that he wouldn’t be hungry enough to eat some parts of her. She looked into her bag and realised that she still had a piece of bread. Right. Not the best meal, at all, but maybe it could buy her some time to get away from this little but scary fox. Gathering her strengh she slowly walked to the fox and put the bread in front of him. When he got close enough to reach it, she let her hand softly touch his head. It lasted for a few seconds and before she could even truly realise what was happening the animal was gone with the bread. 

 

Chuckling softly, Regina watched him go, wishing she could actually be as free as he was for only a day. But that was not in store for her. At least not before a while. 

 

She turned around, ready to get back to the castle she heard the noise of a carriage’s wheels and some horses running. Trying not to get caught, she quickly ran and hid behind a bush. When she saw the carriage, she automatically recognized the king’s knights. What were they even doing here? They couldn’t be looking for her she made sure of that, she’s been very careful, she-... No. There has to be another reason. And she had to find out which one. Besides, following the trail the carriage left behind would not be that hard.

 

Decided, Regina started to follow them, lucky for her they were not far away and were stopping for a drink in a tavern. This was definitely a long travel and they would not be going back soon. Hiding her face in her coat she sat behind them and tried to listen to their conversation. 

 

“-I mean we are so going to catch that man, he killed someone for god’s sake!” one of them exclaimed, and yes, they were drinking.

 

“Come on, Luke, there was one evidence against him and suddenly he’s guilty? i am sure you are better than that.” answered the man next to him. She could barely see their face in the low light of the tavern, maybe it was an advantage so they wouldn’t recognize her. Feeling bold, she dared to get just an inch closer to them, trying to hear what they were about to say.

 

“Look, Graham, he stole from almost all the carriages i escorted from the castle to any other land, that man is smart, he has skills, and that poor Cora, think about the daughter she’s leaving behind!...”

 

Stunned. They were talking about her mother, or more likely, someone who could possibly have killed her mother. So they did have a lead. She couldn’t understand, she asked the King to let his guards know that if anything would come up to help finding her mother’s killer they should come to her first, apparently they didn’t. The thing was, she couldn’t confront any of them or else they would understand that she was away from the castle and she would lose their trust, trust she desperately needed to get away. She couldn’t afford that. She would just have to forget about it and let them come to her when the time would be right. 

 

“And what? That makes him a thief, not a murderer! He’s trying to help the people, i don’t like him any more than you do but there’s one thing i’ve always respected about him : he has a goal, a mission, a purpose. Why on earth would he just go to a woman’s place, a woman he never had any kind of relation with before, to kill her?”

 

“You’re right,” said the other man sighing, “but we have no idea who that woman was, i mean what if they did knew each other?”

 

“Luke-” tried his friend but in vain, he was having none of it.

 

“No, listen, even if they never talked to each other, someone saw a man leaving the place with a hood, he was tall, well build and definitely was not doing it for the first time, who else than The Hood would fit better to that description?”

 

With tears in her eyes, Regina got up and left the tavern. So someone saw her mother’s murderer? Maybe she could have even seen him, he shot an arrow at her he couldn’t have been very far from them. God, what if she saw him? She never did think about that, too caught up in her own grief, her relief and the nightmare that her life became since she left her home to leave at the palace. Maybe she could help them, she could take the time to find her mother’s killer and take him to justice before she left with Daniel. First step would be trying to get the King’s royal guard to trust her and help her get these information. As if she didn’t had enough dangerous task scheduled for the next few days.

 

.::.

 

“Robin, we were waiting for you!” screamed Little John, “couldn’t you wait for us before you killed this animal? I mean now i’m not even sure we can still eat it!”

 

Coming back from the cabin, Robin was in a surprisingly good mood which he hasn’t been since  _ that  _ night. He had no idea why but this…  _ hopefully-not _ future queen intrigued him.She was beautiful, that he couldn’t deny, but she was also kind and she seemed smart and if he was honest, too good to become queen. He knew she had someone, the whole point was actually for her to escape and get back to him but he couldn’t help but feel happy to know her. So yes, maybe he shouldn’t appreciate her but he could be a friend for as long as she needed and that’s what he was about to be. He may be a thief but he had a code and he knew he had to live by that code. And why was he even thinking about that anyways he barely knew the woman! When he heard his friend’s voice Robin smiled, where would he even be without those guys?

 

“How do you even know it was me John,” he answered, “there are 10 persons with weapons here and most them use the same one.”

 

“Well, you’re the leader remember that’s the reason you decided to be the only one to have black arrows” He would agree he was a bit dramatic, but when it came to the food in his stomach, sweet Little John could turn into  pure evil.

 

“Yes, as if i was the only person in the whole wide world to use black arrows…” Robin said, walking towards him, still smiling.   
  


“Are you going to pretend that you didn’t shoot that arrow?”

 

“I didn’t say that…” And now Robin was smirking. “But let me ease your pain mate, you can still eat it i haven’t been gone that long.”

 

“God protect you my friend, you’re a lifesaver!” answered Little John, raising his hands in the hair as if to pray. He then started to get ready to eat when he looked at his friend and noticed that there was something lighter about him. As if for years, he was only the shadow of himself and he finally found a way to feel better. “You seem… in a good mood this morning, where were you?” 

 

“That’s for me to know and for you to not find out yet.” Answered Robin, lighting the fire to feel warmer. He saw the concerned look his friend gave him and almost immediately continued talking. “Look i’m sorry and it has nothing to do with any of us but i just can’t talk about it yet, i will probably need your help though so i hope you will find it in you to forve me?” he was smirking again. 

 

“Maybe…”, said John, “but i hope you know that you’re the one staying awake tonight, it’s your turn!”

 

Robin chuckled at that. Yes, it was indeed his turned to guard their camp and he might be tired but he wouldn’t trade it for the world. He always had been a thief, but his cause today was much more important than just stealing. So yes, maybe he was starting to be more and more like his father but he liked to think that there was a reason for that.

 

.::.

 

When Regina arrived to the castle, it was like the air she could breathe when she was out just got knocked out of her.  It felt like all the find which guided her when she left was now playing against her. She didn’t know if it was because she felt so uneasy in this place or because she just missed Daniel but for some reason all she could think about was going away. The only reason she could feel at least a bit better was her father. He has been her rock during this past week. When her mother was still alive, she doubted he would ever stand up to her she went as far as doubting his courage but since she was killed he was trying so hard to earn forgiveness. She couldn’t deny that. Her sister was also changing. Not necessarily for the better but she would admit that their fight became less instense everyday which was a relieve for both of them, even though Zelena would never admit it. 

 

So truly, her life wasn’t as bad as she made it look like. She also had Snow who she came to care about, who took her mind out of things a couple of hours per day and she may not have been the little girl’s biggest fan but it sure felt nice to not be alone for the whole day when her father was going back to the village with her sister.

 

And now here she was, just outside of the castle, getting ready to welcome back the King. He’s been away for a few days now and she was everything but excited to see him come back. She used to respect him so much, now he was scaring her. It would have been fine if he treated her with respect even though he didn’t grant her request to refuse the wedding, but he used it to speed everything up, he didn’t even give her the change to say goodbye to the people she grew up with, to her friends (to Daniel.). Since she arrived here, he didn’t even look at her, what even was the point of marrying her and taking away her life if he didn’t even want or care about her? 

 

The horse could be heard, the noise was making her dizzy. Here he was and suddenly even her clothes felt too heavy to handle. She wasn’t wearing anything special, a simple dress color cream, her favorite and she curled her hair. She didn’t want to impress the king anyway and it wasn’t like he would even notice if she made an attempt which why kind of a relieve to her.

 

When he arrived, just the sight of his smile was enough to make her want to run away, but she couldn’t. Of course, he hadn’t been the nicest to her, but if her plan didn’t work she was about to stay married to that guy until one of them died. Knowing how her other plans worked out, she was better off trying to get used to it. After all, it wasn’t that bad was it?

 

“Oh, my beautiful future wife!” he said while getting out of the carriage, “i hope you’ve been doing good. I have things to relate to you, i talked to some people and i’m sure so many people will be proud to have such a beautiful queen!” 

  
Talking about surprises, that was something good. What even happened during this trip? As the King was entering the castle, she left outside, her mouth wide opened.

 

.::.

 

She hadn’t been in the mood to get diner, so after the King’s return she almost immediately excused herself and she had gone back to her chambers, exhausted from the day. She was almost asleep when she heard someone entering her appartments by the window,  _ who could dare?!  _ She quickly got up, grabbed the sword that she’s taken a habit of having under her bed and turned around, ready to face her assaulter.

 

The king’s behavior wasn’t the only surprise she got that day.

 

“Daniel?!” She said, as loud as she could without actually using her voice, letting the sword fall on the bed, “What are you doing here?” as she walked toward him, ready to embrace him. “i missed you, so much!” and the exact moment she reached him, her arms encircled him and she hugged him, letting a few tears fall.

 

“I had to see you, it’s been too long and i…” he started, his voice muffled by her hair, “i couldn’t stand not seeing you anymore Regina we can’t do this i’m not sane without you i need you, i need you to be mine forever.” he whispered the last part, and she almost didn’t got it. But she did.

 

“I know… I know i miss you like crazy too Daniel” she answered, still not letting him go, “soon i will find a way, time is running out my love but things are finally getting somewhere” she broke the embrace to look into his eyes for the first time that evening, “i might have the start of a plan but i can’t talk about it yet it’s… it’s too risky for now. But i will be yours, we will escape together and have the life we always wanted.” and then she kissed him sweetly. God, had she missed him.

 

“Please tell me you’re not putting your life at risk?” 

 

Her sweet, sweet Daniel. Always caring about her more than about himself.

 

“No i’m not, i will be very cautious”, she started, “i even asked for help, you should be proud!”

 

“Help?”

 

“Yes, his name is Robin, he is-..’

 

‘Wait, he?” Daniel interrupted, “you’re trusting a man you’ve barely met to help you escape the king’s castle?”

 

Okay she didn’t about it that way but it did sound a bit… eager, to say the least. She didn’t really understand what but there was something in Robin that just made her want to trust him, she just hoped to God that she wouldn’t regret later. In any case, he probably was the only chance she had at this point to ever escape and she couldn’t just say no because she didn’t knew him enough, she was not marrying him he was just helping her to escape.

 

“My love listen to me,” she started, trying to reassure him, “i know this sound a bit.. reckless to say the least but he knows he has to help me, he doesn’t really have a choice and he seems like someone you can trust i wouldn’t do it otherwise you have to trust me!”

 

Daniel sighed, he knew he had to trust Regina but he really didn’t like this whole situation, just knowing that she was the King’s property for so long made his blood boil in his veins so now knowing that she was spending time with this man she barely knew and that she was trusting him… It made him sick to his stomach. He must have physically paled because when he opened his eyes to look at her, he could clearly see she was concerned about him. But he was fine. If one of them was fine, it was him. And now she was walking closer to him, God he just wanted to protect her from this crual world.

 

“Hey,” she whispered, putting her hands on each sides of his face, “you have nothing to worry about do you understand? You know i can take care of myself, and yes, we both agree that this can be a bit risky or even reckless but i feel like it will pay off.”

 

“What makes you trust him?” He said, finally started to realise that he was overreacting. Yes, it was risky but if it was the only solution she had for now then she would have to just go with it.

 

“He knows what he is doing,” She didn’t even hesitate about that, because Robin was a lot of things  but one thing was for sure, he knew his job. “and it is in his best interest to help me. In some point, he is kind of like me so he gets why i need to get away.”

 

“He is like you? what do you mean?”

 

“Well we went through some similar stuff, he...  wait, are you jealous Daniel?” And okay, maybe she shouldn’t have changed the subject he actually looked pretty serious about all of this but she couldn’t help it/

 

“No, i’m not, i’m worried about you Regina he-” Now he was downright getting angry. Yes, he was probably getting jealous, but it was not the point. She barely knew him and here she was, saying they were alike and trusting him with possibly her life.

 

“Oh you so are!” She said, teasing him. “Well let me reassure you; he is not you. He is not… he’s not you Daniel. I love you.”

 

“You promise?” he said, raising an eyebrow doubtfully.   
  


“You seriously need to ask me that? you know i do, now stop overreacting,  get into that bed and hold me until i fall asleep?” 

 

“If you insist, but i don’t trust that man.” He said, still grumpy that she was spending time with a man that wasn’t here. Regina knew it couldn’t be easy for him, if the positions were reversed, she would be exploding with anger, but in all fairness, if spending time with Robin could get her out of the castle faster? She would do it all over again.

 

And with that, she quickly locked her bedroom’s door and joined him in her bed. She always liked the possessiveness that Daniel showed toward her and if the distance had made it a bit stronger? She would get used to it. 

 

“I’m sorry for what i’m putting you through these days,” she said, half asleep, “but it will be worth it. We will be happy…” She didn’t even hear his answer before the world went black and she slept better than she did in what felt like forever but was actually not more than a week.


	4. The first lead

Two half of one soul.

Ch. 4 - The first lead.

.::.

A knock on her door woke up Regina, at first, she thought that the calming and happier moment she had with Daniel yesterday was just a dream. It felt so unreal, having him here, holding her, protecting her, trying to reason her. Truth to be told, she had been half asleep when he came in so it probably could have been the fruit of her imagination. it’s only when she turned around and realised that he left his smill on her pillow that she understood that no, he really was there and she didn’t imagine it. The hint of a smile appeared on the corner of her lips, it had been a welcome distraction from the life of the palace but it was time to get back to it and to her mission. 

When she opened her eyes, she realised that it was actually still the middle of the night and the moon was the only light in her room that could allow her to see anything. Who, in their right mind, would come knocking at her door in the middle of the night? She made herself appear somewhat decent and covered herself letting appear only her arms, the top of her nightgrown and her sleepy face even though she knew the night would hide her imperfections. 

“Who is it?” she asked just loud enough to be heard outside of her room

“It’s Snow Your Majesty, i’m sorry to disturb you in the middle of the night but i had something to tell you.”

Wait, what? How did Snow even got out of her room and got here without any guards telling her to go back to bed? Just for that reason, she deserved to be heard. yes Regina was annoyed that she had to listen to the little girl now, but she made it that far didn’t she? Besides, she was awake and probably wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep any time soon so she’d better let her come in. She didn’t really have anything against Snow anyway if she was honest with herself, she just hoped she wasn’t robbed off her sleep for something that was not important. She got up, placed her long hairs on their left side while she walked through her room and then opened the door and yes, here was Snow White. She let her in and closed the door almost immediately behind her to avoid both of them to get caught.

“What is it Snow?” She then asked, turning around to face her. “I assume it is something important that brings you here in the middle of the night?”

Regina then saw Snow”s eyes fill with tears and her bottom lip start to tremble, “Snow?” she asked, growing concerned. It took only a few secondes for the younger woman to answer but to her it felt like hours.

“It’s… it’s about your mother…” the princess started, “the night she… the night your mother was murdered i was supposed to be asleep but i was scared i felt like…i felt like i was still on the horse…” she was now crying and even though she wasn’t exactly a fan of the young girl Regina felt bad for her. She couldn’t help it. 

“What are you trying to tell me sweetheart?” She was curious now, what was the point of coming to her in the middle of the night just to tell her that? Certainly it could wait until the morning, granted it was not something she could talk about in front of the whole castle but they could find somewhere private to talk.

“I got up.” she said, trying to calm herself but not doing an amazing job at it. “I wanted to find Zelena when she saved me she told me… she calmed me.” if things were weird before, they couldn’t get any more weird than now. That day, she already found it weird from her sister to save a child in danger, but to go as far as calming her once she was safe? that was unexpected. “But i couldn’t find her so i went outside i thought… Maybe… she could have been with the horses she was such a good rider she had to spend a lot of time there… that’s when i saw him.

“Him?” And Regina bit her tongue, it was not polite to interrupt people but Snow was so upset she talked so slowly when her own heart was beating so fast she feared it was going to explode, who did she saw outside of their house the night of her mother’s murder?

“I don’t know who he is… But he had blue eyes and he was wearing a hoodie… he had a bow and arrow and he had… a rose on his bow… he was running away from me, i wanted to ask him who he was but i was frozen and that’s when i heard you, you were screaming and crying and i knew something bad happened, i was scared so i did the only thing i could think of, i went back to sleep and pretended to be asleep, hoping it was just a nightmare but when Joanna came and woke me up i knew it wasn’t…”

Frozen. She stood there, looking at the princess and she couldn’t figure out just how to move or how to speak. She saw her mother’s murderer, well apparently she was not the only one, but he had blue eyes a rose on his bow? What could that possibly mean? What did her mother had to do with anything of the sort? Those new information only made her want to catch him even more, that man whoever he was deserved to pay. She never had a great or neither a good relationship with her mother but she still didn’t deserve to get killed. Especially not over something she knew nothing about.

“Did you… did you tell anyone about this?” she whispered once she found her voice back, which took a couple of minutes and a very worried look from Snow.

“I was too scared to get to someone… But when we arrived at the castle, i went to play outside and got away from Joanna for an hour or so while we were playing hide and seek near the market… i went to one villagers to whom i gave my diamond earrings in exchange of his silence and i told him what i saw… he went to the guards after that but then Joanna found me so i have no idea what they did, i pretended to have lost my earrings during the game, i’m so sorry Regina…”

A gasp left her, she couldn’t help it. The little girl was now completely crying and Regina was in shock. So she was the one who saw her mother’s murderer and she was the one to make sure the guards knew about it even if she was too scared to tell them herself… She was ten, how was she even that smart? How did it work? She could have gotten herself killed if she went to the wrong person for help and somehow she was fine...She had now idea just how lucky she was. But this was good. This meant that she had her first clue as to who was her mother’s killer. Finally getting herself back together, Regina went to Snow and took her into her arms thanking her for confessing and stroking her hair. 

There was still a long way to go to find that bastard but tonight she was one step closer.

.::.

When a few days later Regina realised that no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t think about anything else than the man who took her mother’s life, she resigned herself and gave up on finding informations about the guards before she solved that issue first. It would delay her escape, true, but if she wanted to move and finally be in peace she had to do that, she was done letting her mother control her life, even if it was through the solving of her death. That’s precisely what she told her father when he went to visit in the morning. The lucky man and her sister had been granted permission to get back to the village and to come in the castle to visit the queen as much as they wanted. The brunette felt even more alone since they left a few days ago, but she knew it was for the best, maybe from the outside they will eventually be able to help her and Daniel after their escape? She wasn’t stupid, she knew that she couldn’t get back to her family, it would be the first place the king would go to look for her. But still, maybe in some ways, they would be able to help?

Now was now the time to get lost in her thoughts though because she was getting ready for her first riding lessons since she got here and it wouldn’t be her Daniel but she actually genuinely liked horses. She was curious to learn new things about them and new things to do with them. Her family wasn’t that rich, no matter how hard Cora loved to pretend otherwise, the stable boy who taught her everything she knew was actually the neighbour’s son. Learning from professionals could only help her increase her skills and she was excited to get back on track.

That is until the door opened.

The King entered in her room and immediately closed it, leaning on it and looked at her a very serious look on his face. It was a bad news, there was absolutely no doubt about that.

“You won’t be going to your riding lesson darling.” Inside, she was rolling her eyes. Darling? Really? He liked to pretend to actually care about her and how she felt in public but in private he’s been nothing but ignorant toward her, why would he start caring now? She was excited for the first time in almost two weeks and he wanted to take that away from her? she was not about to accept that.

“Your Majesty, if i may, i’m sure you paid th-” and she was interrupted, was he hoping to make it a habit because if he was it was working and it was pissing her off.

“You won’t be going because i have something important to tell you and then you will want to go with me.” He answered, calmly. “When you got here, you asked me to try and find the man who took your mother’s life and you requested to be informed of everything we found. Well we are following a serious lead and we have some suspects to talk to, if you want to you can come with me and see them for yourself?”

“Yes” she said, without an ounce of hesitation, “i will come with you.”

.::.

They were all gathered around the campfire, it was only midday but it felt pretty cold even for a group of people who were used to live in the forest. The hunt had been good this morning and the atmosphere was cheery. This was the kind of evening Robin loved the most, it was far from perfect but they were having a good time and he just knew that he couldn’t handle losing his friends. They’ve become thieves a bit more than 5 years ago and somehow through all this time they became his family. Rejected by his own blood, Robin had to create what he could call his family and he did, it worked. In all honesty, he wasn’t sure he could imagine his life without them.

“Hey; what’s going on in that handsome head of yours?””

And of course. The only woman who decided to join them, Emma Swan. He met her three years ago in a tavern, she used to be a waitress and he used to be a regular. One day, he was feeling a bit lonely and down so she came and talked to him for a bit about how she got where she was and why she hated it so much, they felt a connection between them happening pretty quickly. After a few more drinks, they had gotten back to the camp and he had kissed her. Which ended in the both of them laughing. Yes, there was a connection but after that kiss it was obvious that it could only be platonic. They liked each other and she was beautiful woman, but they didn’t like each other in that way. After they both realised it, Robin invited Emma to join the band since she hated her work so much it could give her a good distraction. Today, three years later she was still with them and she was one of his best friends.

“Oh so now i’m handsome?” he answered, “you totally forgot about me when you were flirting with that pirate the other night” he added, because he couldn’t help but smirk at her reaction, he would never get enough of teasing her.

“Robin!” She exclaimed, “you know it’s not like that!”

“Yeah, sure, if you say so!”

“Quit being over dramatic and just tell me what’s going on, i know you want to!” 

He did want to, but it was also completely dangerous. He still had no concret plan to get Regina out of the castle and his better asset was without a doubt the surprise it would cause he could not risk that. He trusted Emma with his life, but it was not her he was worried about. It may look like everyone was to busy having fun to listen to them but if anyone heard them, the news would spread and that was completely not what he needed. Maybe if he left the escape plan out of the explanation he could still tell her about Regina though? It was a tough one though, the blonde was a very curious and he knew she wasn’t about to let it go.

“Okay, i will tell you some of it but i can’t explain everything yet so don’t ask alright?” Was his answer, he would just have to be careful not to let anything slip. He received a nodd for answer so he smiled at her and started explaining the situation. “After what happened last week during the hunt i needed a distraction, not that you would be surprised, so i went wandering a bit on my own and i found a cabin which i thought was just forgotten about. But i was wrong, it belonged to a very special woman who caught me, since then i promised to help her with… something that i can’t tell you for now.”

“That’s what’s gotten into you? a woman?” She asked doubtful, She knew Robin and she knew he wasn’t exactly the romantic type of man. “Or was it the other way around?” she smirked, because yes that would explain it.

“No it’s not like that, we’re not… we didn’t…” He felt the heat in his cheeks before he could even turn around, hoping that she wouldn’t notice would be an insult to her at this point.

“Are you blushing?!” she exclaimed “well if you didn’t yet you’re certainly going to.” she added, smiling. 

“Emma she has a boyfriend!” he said, blushing even harder. God, what was it about that woman he never blushed before “and even if she was single, it’s not like that, we’re just friends!”

“Oh so you blush about all your friends?” she said, raising an eyebrow, “but it’s fine, whatever, you’re just friends. You just think she’s special because you care about her even though you just met her. But you are friends.” 

“Yes you dork we are just friends, now get back back to dancing and quit annoying me.” he said, smirking. When Emma got up and started to make her way to the others, he stopped her and she turned around when she heard her name. “And Emma? Not a word about this yet, to anyone, i trust you okay?”

“Sure, i won’t say anything.” She answered with a smile on her face. “Why don’t you come and have fun with us?”

And because it’s been a while and he was bored here sitting on his own he got up too and joined his friends to have some fun. Tomorrow his head would be back to Regina and how to help her but for now he would just enjoy a good evening with his friends hoping she was alright.  
.::.

The travel to the Sherwood Forest was long for Regina, sat in the carriage with someone she didn’t like preparing herself for a mentally and emotionally complicated confrontation, there was no doubt or hesitation in her mind when she said that she had better days. But it was important for her and for her mother so she knew she had to do it or else she would not be able to live with herself. She just wished she wouldn’t have to do it with the King. She always completely respected that man, he was kind and fair at least to his people, except that since she knew she had to marry him and she saw the way he treated her and acted in private she just wanted to get as far away from him a possible. There was just something crazy in his eyes. The hint of a shadow that could tell many people who he actually was inside. She used to like, or at least respect, him but the more she knew about him the more she felt uneasy when he was around. Sometimes she felt like maybe it was her fault that they didn’t get along, he tried at first until she asked him to not marry him, maybe it was just her being stubborn and blinded by her dreams of true love and what seemed like a perfect tale she had with Daniel.

Since she went to the castle, she realised that her stable boy, or former stable boy, had been acting weird these days. Before his trip, he wasn’t really the jealous type or the kind of boyfriend who get upset over her spending time with another man to try and get back to him. She wouldn’t lie to herself and say that this was a complete change of his personality because he always has been a bit possessive and like to let her know that she was his and his only… Okay, yes, maybe he was a bit jealous but she never actually thought he could be serious about all of this. The thing is, when he came to see her a few nights ago he did seem upset and angry.

But enough thinking about Daniel, the carriage arrived in the forest and she knew they would be arriving soon. The forest was beautiful. Majestic, calm, quiet and pure. Since she was a child, when she needed a break from her mother or anyone and anything else in her life, she took her horse and went to the forest, it was the closest she’s ever been from free. Today, on the contrary, she felt like she was suffocating. She wasn’t, she knew she couldn’t be but they were probably about to meet the man who took away the life of the person who, even though she wasn’t perfect, sacrificed a lot for her and deserved justice. Regina wondered what he looked like, what kind of color his hair were, were there brown like the dirt in the forest, dark as his heart or maybe blond? And his eyes? They were probably cold as ice or as his soul. She wished there was a way she could know right away who did it but for now she had to remind herself that whoever she was about to meet was only a suspect and they had no actual evidence against him, at least for now. She was so done about this situation already that she hoped the killer would be catched quickly and without further damages. Selfishly, she was hanging on the belief that whoever did it, he did not have a good reason for it. Yes, Cora was a monster but Regina couldn’t help but love her. After all, she was her mother wasn’t she? 

Before she had time to linger on the thought any longer they were there. The king was the first to get out of the carriage and when she heard him gasp and talk the the knights that came with them for their protection, she knew something was wrong. And it was wrong indeed, for the camp was empty. 

It was as if it never existed, all that was left was the remainings of the campfire that these people probably used to warm themselves up, not knowing that one of them was a killer. Or maybe they knew? Maybe all of them planned it together and only the actual murderer got caught? There was only one way to know and it was by going after them.

 

“I’m truly sorry my dear,” said Leopold and for once she actually believed him, “we couldn’t have known that they would already be gone, but i already sent my best men after them and i assure you, even if it takes years, we will find them and your mother’s murder will not be in vain.”

At that moment, Regina felt like all that was needed was vengeance and she only nodded. He could have been lying but she was not going to give up even if she had to keep looking after she left the castle without any insides. She knew she was looking at the place where the campfire was but she was lost in her own thoughts. When he took her arm to get her back to the carriage, she heard something break beneath her. It was an Arrow. A black Arrow. 

“Wait what is-” she tried to tell them, to tell them that there was an evidence right under her feet but they didn’t listen to her, they only sent her to the carriage, trying to ignore what she was saying. Why couldn’t they help themselves but think that they were better than anyone else? Who said that because she was a woman the evidence she found could not be worthy of attention? 

“Stop!” Once again, they didn’t listen. “There was- Just look there was… just let me go!” Why couldn’t they listen? But this time she was done fighting. She will come back later and maybe will ask Robin to come here with his men. She just hoped he would be able to help.

.::.

Breath in, breath out.

 

Robin took one step in the direction of the doe that was currently walking right in front of him. Silence. That was all he needed. Getting caught would absolutely not help him. He always liked hunting and it was often him who was skilled enough to feed the whole camp and to save some food for the next few days, well, for as long as they could still eat it anyway. He took another step, unfortunately he didn’t see the branch before he broke it and the sound could be heard very distinctly. He then shoot the arrow, knowing that it was his last chance and it hit. Smiling, he got to his prey and collected it, happy to bring something back for everyone.

When he arrived at the camp, most of the men were still sleeping, he started to roast the doe and sat close to the fire to keep warm. if there was one thing he didn’t like in living in the forest it would certainly be the cold and the wind who if he was honest, almost killed him a couple of time. He could also do with a little less sunshine in the morning which was waking him up earlier than needed and tired for the rest of the day. 

But they were some perks in living in the forest, the first one was freedom. He could sleep wherever he wanted, how he wanted, with whom he wanted (not that this would be any useful, the only time he brought a woman to his camp was to warm his bed for one night from time to time but he wasn’t ready for more than that yet.) and everything around him felt so pure and so genuine which was a complete difference from the world he used to live before he ran away and left his family. Ever since he was a boy, his brother used to take him in the forest to play or to hunt, even when he got sick and passed away Robin never ceased to feel at home and close to his brother named August when he was in the forest. Maybe that was the reason he decided to live there once he left and didn’t look for another kingdom to hide? He didn’t know but he felt good here.

As he was thinking about how he got here, the meat was almost ready and the smell attracted Little John who, almost immediately, came close to him to have some and wake up the right way. 

“Morning Brother!” He grumbled between bites.

“Good Morning John! Slept well i hope?”

“Yeah, although there’s something that… stuck with me,” he said and stopped eating. Robin knew something was wrong then, usually nothing came between John and his food, not even the biggest robbery they ever did so this was something serious. “You remember the night we moved our camp? After we went hunting all together?”

Hesitating, Robin turned to look at Little John and answered him, “ah, yes i remember actually we got enough to eat for 3 days after that.”

“It went to the village yesterday, as you know, we needed more blankets with this cold but when i was there i heard some knights talking, they were looking for someone who uses black arrows and roses and said that a woman was apparently murdered in her own house almost two weeks ago and this man probably was the killer..”

“Poor woman… I’m sure she didn’t deserve this…” 

“Robin… Last week when you came back later than usual from your morning hunt you were using the dark arrows and there were roses next to the place the camp was…”

He visibly tensed. He couldn’t possibly suspect or know anything, could he? He was his friend, sure they had their secrets but John had to know someone who stole was not a murderer… “Listen, Mate, you know i’m not the only one using black arrows in this kingdom, we know-”

“You disappeared!” He interrupted him, “when we went hunting two weeks ago you disappeared for an hour or so and when you came back there was blood on your clothes! Where were you?”

“I… I had something to do and…” When he looked at his friend, he knew that he wouldn’t let go until he got an answer so Robin started talking. “Okay, i will tell you but you can’t repeat it to anyone, not yet you understand?” When he nodded, he started telling what happened that night. “When we went hunting, i was not feeling well. I’ve was close to the village to find something to eat but two woman came and they were talking about Sherwood and how a witch curse on a wolf which would stop him from getting killed until he was shot in the eye by an Arrow and his tail cut off. At first, i didn’t feel anything because i thought they would just have to handle it on their own. But then, i remembered that before i left i was the better archer in the kingdom and if anyone else could aim they weren’t good and strong enough to kill an innocent animal. So i went there, during the hunt. Trying to help them. I killed the beast and removed the tail, hence to why i was covered in blood, but as soon as it was over the witch appeared.. I don’t know how or why but she knew who i was and my history with my family, she thought it was brave and good of me to help them given the circumstances so to thank me she casted a spell on my bow so that i would never miss again.”

“Woah, okay, so you’re telling me that you… helped your family? and you got rewarded and that’s it?” John looked terrified and amazed at the same time by the story he just heard, “i mean, not that’s it because it’s crazy but, you know, woah Robin! Why didn’t you tell us?”

“I didn’t want to help them, i shouldn’t have, we both know the kind of person they are and why i got away, yet i still helped them…” He sighed, true it was his family but he was sure that what he did was something he should not be proud of. He did do it to save innocent people from the wolf but he helped them, he killed an innocent animal in the process, animal that could have been spared if that witch hadn’t cursed him.

“You can’t just turn your back on your family like that Robin, trust me, i know. You acted like a hero. Yes, it doesn’t only have good consequences but you saved who knows how many lives which is something they never had the heart pure enough to do.”

Robin smiled and put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. Between guys, they were never the type to actually talk about their feelings or deep stuff and part of their history but he was really grateful to have a friend like John who helped him feel better about everything that happened to him and was always there for him, without any judgment or any questions asked. He also knew that if he was to screw up his friend would let him know and would not let him ruin his life which was also another reason why he was so grateful.

.::.

During the trip to get back to the castle, Regina was a wreck. She kept clenching her fists and try to find a good reason not to just get out of the carriage to go look for these thieves. When they arrived, the campfire was still fuming to they hadn’t been gone for long and she was almost completely sure that someone warned them that the king and the future queen were on their way to come and talk to them. Who was it? One of the night? She didn’t think so. They may not be the smartest man on this land but they were loyal and that’s something she never doubted. She still had to find informations about them for Robin so that they could create the perfect plan to get her out of the castle and let her escape but it would have to wait, she was meeting Robin again soon she would just tell him that she needed time. If the knight hadn’t let the thieves know about today, maybe it could have been someone who crossed their path in the village, they hadn’t really been screaming that they were going to catch them but she knew for a fact that some knights had asked people to not approach the forest today to avoid any confusion so it wouldn’t have been difficult if someone knew these people to make their way to them and warn them. Which left her with basically no way to find out who was their sources and to know where they were now. Great. Just great. 

She shuddered when she felt a hand on hers, forgetting for a moment that she was not alone. She turned her head and looked at the King, if she didn’t know better she would say that he actually cared about what happened today and how she was feeling.

“My dear, are you alright?” he said, his voice so low she almost missed it. “You seem upset.”

She wasn’t upset. No, it wasn’t the right word, maybe for once she could open up to him? She had to share his life for as long as it took to find her mother’s killer anyway so if there was a way she could make it more pleasant… “I’m not upset i am… disappointed. I’m not naive enough that i was hoping to arrest him today but i thought we could at least get some information but we got nothing and it’s just… frustrating.” She hadn’t realised that she needed to talk about it until she did. Of course, she would’ve prefered to talk to Daniel or maybe even Robin about it but talking to the king could maybe help him see the human side of her and treat her better.

“Believe or not i do understand what you mean,” he answered “when my wife passed away all i could think about was vengeance..” was he… smiling? A bittersweet smile yes, but a smile still. “if there’s anything i can do, to help, i would be glad to do it.” She wanted to trust him. Her reason was screaming at her to run as far away from him as possible but her heart, the one who wanted revenge for her mother, wanted to trust and well the first lesson she learned was to always follow her heart.

But she wouldn’t have a chance to do so.

 

As the horses went as fast as they could to get to the castle before dark, a little fox crossed the road and stopped in the middle, just in time to see the horses arrive on him and once he saw they couldn’t stop their track he ran for his life and barely made it to the other side of the road. The horses got scared when they saw him. Everything then happened so fast, before either Regina or the king could realise what was happening, the carriage fell sideways.

Regina felt like flying. 

Her head was spinning and she felt like she was going to get sick. Or die. Or probably both.

The road they used was not that dangerous and usually animals didn’t crossed the forest when they heard the noise of a carriage and with how fast they were going the fox should’ve hear them coming long ago. But he apparently didn’t. And now Regina could hear the horse run away.  
Somehow, during the fall, the carriage broke. She wasn’t sure what happened to the King and she couldn’t see him from where she was. She would’ve got up and look for him, she would’ve at least turned her head to try and find out if he was okay but she couldn’t. She had no strength left in her body and she could feel blood on her head. With no strength at all in her body, she had no way at all to find out if her injuries were bad or if she was just in shock. The sun was now shining and she could hear birds singing.

Funny thing. A few days ago she promised Daniel that she would be fine, that she would be cautious, what if she wasn’t going to be now? She hoped Robin wouldn’t be to mad, she knew she barely knew him but she had trusted him and they seem to get along pretty well but in a way he already felt like a friend to her when he shouldn’t. It didn’t matter anymore. God, her head was killing her, was it even possible to feel that much pain? Well apparently it was and it didn’t stop increasing.

She heard something not far from her, the King. She recognised his pained grunt, he was alive! This was a good sign. She tried to move, to get up but she couldn’t. 

What seem like very far away from her, she heard horses. Was it their horses? She didn’t know they could have come back, they were never trained to find their way back to someone or somewhere and they were new ones, gifts from the people. She had felt grateful when they arrived, immediately wanted to ride. All that blood that couldn’t stop. The horses were getting closer and closer and she could swear she heard someone say her name but her eyes closed. She couldn’t see anything anyway, everything was getting more blurry every second. 

From what she figured, when the carriage fell over the door broke and knocked her out, she fell on the King who thankfully wasn’t injured badly and when they fell on the ground she got cut on her forehead and lip. She still couldn’t know how bad it was, hopefully the King could find her easily and help. As soon as she closed her eyes, she felt the tempting pull of sleep taking her and she tried to resist it really, she tried, but she couldn’t for long. So she let go. All turned to black and feel unconscious.


	5. Healing

Two half of one soul.

Ch. 5 - Healing.

.::.

Living in the forest while being haunted by a whole kingdome certainly had it’s perks but today Robin had to admit that he was feeling pretty down. Truth to be told, he was getting bored. There was only so much hunting and grilling someone could do before they completely lost their mind and apparently he was at that point. Sometimes he wondered what would have happened if he stayed in Sherwood with his family in their castle, granted he never liked it there but he certainly wouldn’t complain about the comfort he used to receive. He never had been really rich or really spoiled but he did had a pretty good life there, until he realised what kind of people his family was and how come they lived in a castle and their people for most part slept on dirt. Selfish people. Terrible People. Now he remembered the reason he decided to leave and why half of the land wanted his head on a spike, he wouldn’t let that happen. Today Robin didn’t even had the heart to plan a robbery. His men were still asleep but he had heard a lot of carriage pass by and he could have easily plan something while waiting for them to wake up, he just didn’t have the heart to do so today. he didn’t know why there was just something wrong with him and he hoped that it would be okay.

Maybe he could try and go hunt? They had enough food to last for a while anyway but it could keep his mind off everything that was happening around him, between the murder of that woman, Regina that he barely knew but somehow something in him pushed him to trust her, to get close to her and he was trying to fight these instincts as much as he could. He barely knew her for god’s sake! And then there was also John, doubting him which was something he never thought would’ve happened. There was also a guilt. A guilt because a few days ago it’s been Marian’s death anniversary and he didn’t even went to see her. Didn’t even had the heart to. Instead, he decided to go and betrayed everything she brought to him. What a fool he had been. And actually, what was it today with the self-loathing? He never had been the greatest fan of himself per say but always thought he was not that bad. He had to change his mind before his thought went from annoying to downright upsetting. 

He got up, got dressed with clothes a bit more fitting for a hunt and took his bow and arrow. He wouldn’t go that far he just needed to clear his head, until today, a walk in the forest and focusing on possible target always did the trick. It was rainy today. Not quite raining but very cloudy and the ground was wet. He was not surprised, one of the main reason he had barely slept last night was the rain falling on his tempt and waking him up with the noise it made. He quickly glanced and realised that none of them knew that the fire they lit up was uncovered and it was now completely drowned in water and ashes. Well, they have to start a new one completely. As if there weren’t enough things annoying him currently. Even though woke up in quite a mood and he still didn’t know why, the sun was up and radiant now which was something to cheer him up at least. He could at least try and have a good day or not be mean.

Going through the forest and a bit further from the camp, he decided that he would not distance himself too much, he didn’t want to risk getting lost or too far if anything happened. That’s precisely the moment he saw a fox running. He seemed to come from the main trail. Robin took his bow and arrow, started pointing to the small animal when he shot, he missed, he hadn’t realised right away that his hands were not placed correctly. When the arrow startled the fox, he started running even faster and, ignoring the pain, Robin took another arrow and got ready to shoot again. Except this time he stopped as he realised. There was blood on his paws and on his nose. He didn’t know much about animals but if one of them ate his breakfast there wouldn’t blood just there and they wouldn’t be running. For a few hours now since he was awake he felt that something was wrong, what if something did actually happen? Thanks to the blood trails the fox let behind Robin followed his path and tried to find out what happened. 

As he got closer and closer, he saw a wheel on it’s own and he knew he was right. Something did happen. He kept going until the pure smell of forest got tainted with the smell of blood. This was definitely bad. 

And then it was like his heart missed a beat. 

He could see a carriage completely broken, what was left of it was upside down. The horses seemed to be long gone and was this carriage abandoned? No it wasn’t. He could see and hear something move from the other side. As quickly as he could, he went to see if he could help, hoping that the person or everyone that was in this carriage was fine if not for a bit knocked out. When he saw the black hair, he thought that he was actually still sleeping and this was just a nightmare but it wasn’t. Here, laying on the dirty ground was Regina. Oh god. He felt like the air had just completely disappeared from his lungs. Of course he barely knew her but he liked her and seeing her this way was just… damn it, he had to help her.

Robin rushed to her side and kneeled next to her, brushing her hair out of her face and sensing her pulse. He could feel one, she was alive. He then glanced down her body trying to see any major damage and was relieved when he saw none. Standing up, he took her in his arms and carried her a bit further when she could be a bit safer and more comfortable. he placed a single and tender kiss on her forehead and then went back to the carriage and proceeded to look around for anyone else that could have been with her. He found no one. Where had she been to go alone in the woods? And where were the knights and the horses? Something had definitely been going on and he just hoped that she was okay staying in that castle for now and that she was safe because it certainly didn’t look like it. She was wearing a beautiful and simple white dress, so it hadn’t been formal. Well now the dress was ruined, though he imagined being the not-so-future-queen she had the means to have a new one. He went back to check on her when she moved and slowly opened her eyes.

“Regina!” He said, not louder than a whisper, “Do you hear me?”

“Robin?” She stammered, still half unconscious. “What are you… what are you doing here? Leopold he…”

Leopold? The king? So he had been with her and now there was no sign of him or his guards near that carriage. So many questions formed in his head, he itched to ask them but he knew that now was not the time, he had to bring her back to the Castle where she could get the medical help she needed but without his horse he wouldn’t very well be able to just bring her back and run away before they could catch him. He also could not just leave her alone here he didn’t know how much time it would take to get back to the camp, prepare the horse and get back here before anything could happen to her. And then he decided, screw it. He took her in his arms after placing his bow and arrows on his back and started to walk in the castle’s direction. He couldn’t just leave her like this in the middle of the forest.

“What happened?” She whispered, still groggy and not quite herself, “Where… Where’s Leo he…” She tried to move but all it did was make her head spin so she gave up on that idea. “He was hurt too i think… i think i saw him..”

he left you, thought Robin, not believing it himself. How could he? Sure, the people didn’t know yet the face of the woman that was announced as being the future queen but still. Leaving her unconscious and injured in the woods was pretty terrible. Something else must have happened even if he had no idea what now, it could be a lot of things. But it didn’t matter, she had to be taken care of. Suddenly she felt heavy in his arms, but at the same time it was like carrying a feather, maybe it was because he was in shock? He had no idea. He had to ease her mind, all she needed was peace, rest and people with knowledge in medicine to help her. Not useless stress.

“Don’t worry about that love,” he said before adding, “we are not that far from the castle they will take care of you.” 

When he arrived near the castle not long after he found her, he realised that he must have been closer to it than he originally thought. He waited to see something move and heard the order given to open the doors. They were going to be looking for her. Satisfied that they would not have left her in the woods and just never come back, he put her against a tree and waited for them to get closer hidden behind another one a bit further so they wouldn’t see him. When they were close enough he shot an arrow on the opposite tree to stop them and surprised to be attacked the guards immediately turned their head to the right and saw Regina laying there, regaining consciousness they ran to her and helped her on one of the horses and guided it back to the castle. Smiling softly, relieved that Regina was going to be alright Robin disappeared through the woods and thought to himself that he shouldn’t be that worried over Regina but trying to fight would only be in vain. He should try and take care of his hand before it had time to become infected.

.::.

Everything felt light and dizzy. The memories of what happened were all blurry and she had trouble to know what had actually happened and her injured head had imagined. When she opened her eyes she realised she was back in the castle in her bedchambers and she had no idea how she got here. She recalled talking to the king, openly and genuinely for the first time and then… there was an accident, she was thrown out of the carriage and she recalled seeing the King move he was probably alright, there was a… fox, yes it was a fox that got close to her and then black. Just black. Had she seen Robin? It seemed to her like she did, like he was there but it was ridiculous Robin was not in or even close to the carriage. She tried to move, to sit but the only thing she was able to achieve was the fall back on the back and clench her fist. She was a mess. She should probably rest and try to recover, she needed to be healed shortly enough she had to go and see Robin to let him know the rare information she got about the knights and that she wouldn’t get out of here before she had found her mother’s killer. He was about to help so he deserved to know the truth. 

As she was about to lose the battle against her body and sleep, she heard some noise coming from the window. When she tried to look her vision was blurry and her head was spinning but she realised that someone was getting in her room. For a few seconds, she was scared until she saw the face of the person. Daniel, her sweet stable boy. He probably heard that she had been hurt and decided to come and check on her himself because he couldn’t believe anyone when it came to her safety and she couldn’t say that she didn’t like it and found it adorable. His feet weren’t even properly on the ground that he ran toward her and he took her face between her hands while covering it with kisses and whispering her name and words of adoration between each kiss. She had to admit, he was a bit clingy but it was cute. A bit much sometimes, but cute. She wished she could hug him and make him feel that she was fine but it was still a bit early for that and even more now that he could see that it was not that bad and that she would be okay. He was wearing his stable clothes and she felt at home with this smell or she could say safe, in peace. He was handsome, she liked the way the color brought out his eyes, every time she told him just that he couldn’t stop teasing her about how that was a girl thing. She tried once again to gather enough strength to sit and talk to him but it was useless, she wanted to speak but she knew it would take her a while to find her voice, that’s the moment she realised that she hadn’t speak since she was awake and just how much time did she spent unconscious?

“My love what happened? I heard about the carriage, god i was so scared!” He said it all in one breath and she worried for a second that he was even more upset than her.

“Dan-” She tried, but her voice cracked not completely ready to start working again. “Daniel i’ll be fine don’t worry. Seriously, yes i am injured but it’s nothing serious i will recover i promise.”

“How did you even get here?” he said, a shaky voice, betraying his worry. “I heard it happened in the forest where the carriage was found, is it true? Did you walk here?”

That was the question wasn’t it? Yes, it did happen in the forest and she most certainly did not walk here, she couldn’t even stand properly on her own how would’ve she been able to get all the way here? She tried to think about moving, about a moment she felt like she was going back to the castle but the more she thought about it the less it made sense. The last moment she remembered moving was during her strange dream about Robin. At least it felt like she was moving. Well, apparently it was not a dream. How did Robin found her she may never know but it seemed like he did and he helped her. She could just feel it, she had to talk to him about him next time she’ll see him. And then she remembered that Daniel was still here, Daniel, the man she was dating, her fiancé and he was waiting for an answer. Why did Robin saving her felt like a betrayal? She didn’t have to feel that way.She hadn’t do anything wrong so if he didn’t like what happened it was his problem. Feeling reassured by those thoughts, she decided to tell him the truth.

“I actually am not sure,” she said, “i wasn’t conscious but i woke up for a few moments on my way back and i… i don’t know if it was a dream or if it was real but… You remember Robin? The guy that is going to help me out of here?” She looked at him in the eyes and he nodded slowly, his jaw tensing. “I think it was him.”

“Was he following you?” asked Daniel as an answer, his voice full of accusations, “because if he was i will hunt him down Regina that man-”

“Daniel no! He wouldn’t! To be honest i have no idea how he got here and why but he helped me and saved me, do you really think he would if he had a reason of following me?” She felt bad for interrupting him. But she couldn’t let him say those words. She barely met Robin and she didn’t know why but she did trust him. Besides, why would he want to hurt her? She had done nothing to him, merely asked him to do something he obviously liked to do. She took Daniel hands in hers and looked at him in the eyes, trying to show him that if he didn’t trust him, which she could understand since he hadn’t even met him, then he could trust her.

“I don’t trust that man Regina,” He then whispered after a few minutes of silence. “You’re too important to me and if anything happened to you..”

She squeezed his hand then, because she was not bold enough to try and get up again today but she hoped he could feel that this was her way to answer him. To tell him that he had nothing to worry about and that she would be fine. She never really was really protective but she knew she didn’t want to lose him either and she also hoped that he could sense that. Truth to be told, she did want to reassure him but being away from him was opening her eyes about a lot of things.

First of all, she may think it is sweet but she was getting annoyed by how overprotective he was acting most of the time. At first, she thought it was sweet and adorable but every time she so much as blinked the wrong way he was on the verge of a panic attack. He had reasons not to trust Robin, he did but she couldn’t help but feel like he didn’t trust her either. That no matter what, he would never acknowledge and believe in the fact that she could take care of herself and that, yes, maybe some bad things could happen to her but she could handle it. He never once believed that. She didn’t like the way she was thinking but it reminded her of when he helped her deal with her mother for so long, he never once told her that she could handle it, all he did was offer her support and remind her that it was not wrong to feel awful about the whole situation, he told her that she could come and see him anytime even if it was just to cry herself to sleep because her mother had been particularly mean but not once he told her to stand up to her, that she was strong enough for it and that he believed in her. A shiver ran down her spine as she thought that maybe that was some twisted way of keeping her close to him. But she couldn’t think like that, she loved him, did she? She wasn’t even that sure about it anymore, she knew he gave her what he needed and when she needed it most : comfort, support, love. But did she ever loved him back? 

She couldn’t keep thinking like that, not while he was here. She couldn’t do that to him and worry him over something she wasn’t even sure about. Maybe she felt tired, exhausted and in pain and her brain was using some twisted ways to distract her from the pain by imagining all sorts of stupid things. She loved Daniel. As she kept telling herself that she started to feel tears burning in the corner of her eyes and she knew that she wouldn’t be able to fight them.

“Maybe…” she started, and then cleared her throat, “Maybe i should sleep for awhile, i mean i still feel tired and a bit of pain, i will be alright but maybe i should sleep a bit?”

“Of course!” He said while getting up, he quickly and chastely kissed her on the mouth, “sleep beautiful, i will try and come to check on you when you feel better.” he said before disappearing once again. 

For a brief moment, she thought the kiss would erase all her worries and help her clear her thoughts but she was wrong. When he disappeared, she found herself realising that she didn’t want him to come back if it meant more fighting and more doubts. That thought was her breaking point and the tears started to fall. She was wrong. She loved him. She had to. 

.::.

“And when she looked at him, she knew she could have courage and be brave.” 

A few days later, Regina was still in bed recovering but she did felt much better. Better enough that this morning she actually allowed Snow to come and see her. True, she was not completely decent but a white nightgown that was covering most of her injuries should be enough to allow the young girl to see her. They had talked for a while, trying their best to ignore what happened the other night and then Snow had requested to read. She didn’t had the heart to say no. So here she was, in her bed cuddled with Snow reading her a story about a prince and a princess falling in love. Very cheesy if you’d ask her, but it wasn’t badly written which helped.

“Oh Regina this story is so beautiful!” Said Snow rather loudly, “do you think something like this could actually exist? true love?” Regina’s heart melted, Snow was so young and she had so much hope. How was she doing this she would never know. What she did know though is that if she could protect that spark of innocence and happiness she would gladly do it for as long as she could, Snow deserved this after the things she has been through already.

“Of course dear, why wouldn’t it?” She answered, smiling.

“Do you think i will have that one day?”

“Well i would say that when the time is right, with a heart as big as yours, there’s no doubt that you will find your perfect match.” And she really believed it, she wasn’t just saying it to spare the young girl’s feeling or to be nice. Regina had known quite a lot of people in her life, not one of them had been as pure and kind-hearted as Snow. Even her Daniel had his dark side but within Snow she could she nothing but gentleness. Not that the situation couldn’t change but for now, if she knew anyone that was qualified for true love it would absolutely be the king’s daughter, she would have many suitors thanks to her princess status and maybe she would get through some bad experiences but she will find her way.

“I hope so! But what if he is someone unavailable? Or someone horrible? Someone from the Locksleys?” Wait what?

“The Locksleys?”

“They used to be the kingdom’s allies but since their new King is ruling they’ve become selfish and did some terrible things like using their people’s good for their own benefits, executing people who did not agree with them and they say they even stole from many kingdom they were invited to.” Regina fought the urge to roll her eyes. She loved the girl, she did but she always talked so fast and believed to so many stories. Obviously she couldn’t know if this one was true or not, at least for now, but all sounded so extreme surely she would have heard about it? She would have to do some research about it. She didn’t know why but that story sounded familiar to her, maybe she already heard it somewhere, but just because it was popular didn’t mean that it was true, she’d know that when the all land was chanting how kind and good the king was and the way he’s actually been treating her. What was she supposed to answer then? She couldn’t let her know that she didn’t really believed the story.

“Well they do seem like bad guys.” She finally settled, “but you know just because the stories make it seem like it doesn’t mean they are all the same. There may be kind people and souls in their kingdom and one of them could be your perfect match, it would be such a shame to let that person go just because they were born there.”

“Do you know any kind Locksleys?”

She didn’t, she realised. She didn’t even heard of them before, which wouldn’t help proving her point but lying wouldn’t either. “No, i don’t, but as you are aware of i did grow up in a kind and noble house, we did have our enemies as i am sure everyone does and i did met one of them, i still talk to him sometimes, he is…” Could she really reveal that the Snow? No, it was too risky she decided. She was still a little girl and if someone asked her, it would be too easy to let it slip so no, about that she was gonna lie. “a friend. One of my best friends. The point is, just because they belong to a land of bad guys doesn’t mean the whole kingdom are bad you know?” She wished she could tell how true it was. She almost missed Daniel because of thoughts liked this poisoned her mind and true, she might not be sure about what she felt for him these days but she didn’t think she would have gone through everything she did if she didn’t have him.

When she met Daniel, he was homeless and came from the Colter family which were their neighbours before her mother died. She didn’t know exactly what happened but the two families started hating each other and her mom and dad forbid her to talk to any of them. One day when she found Daniel sleeping outside, she begged them to help him and to not let an innocent pay for his family’s crimes, her mother had refused but her father agreed to employ him in the stables and to give Regina the riding lessons she always wanted. Day after day, they grew closer to one another and that’s how they fell in love. Thinking about it always used to make Regina happy and cheer her up but now for the first time she felt doubts. She did care about him and had feelings for him but opening her eyes about his possessiveness and overprotectiveness made her realise that maybe what she felt for him was not love and it made her feel horrible.

“Really? Do i know him?” asked Snow. Regina resisted the urge to laugh. Or cry. Or both. No, she didn’t know him and she would never, it was better that way.

“I don’t think you do, sweetheart but you know he is very busy.”

“That’s too bad, maybe i can meet him one day?” Oh no, not the glassy puppy and begging eyes. She came to actually care about her and she knew she could never resist those eyes. But it was not possible, for her safety, for Daniel safety, for everyone she cared about safety. But she knew Snow and she wouldn’t give up unless she was satisfied.

“Maybe, but don’t hold your breath because i am really not sure when.” She said, faking a smile.

“That’s too bad…” Started Snow, sighing, “but you know what? Maybe you’re right and maybe i will find true love.”

Chuckling, Regina answered “I’m sure you will Princess!”

.::.

The only reason Robin ever wished he still had money from his family was so that he could have been able to bury Marian properly. All he was able to do why the help of his men was to find a peaceful place, bury her and leave a rather big rock close by so that he could remember where was her final resting place without any doubt even years after her left him. He didn’t often had the courage to go and talk to her, the ache in his chest too heavy to handle and the way he could almost feel as if she was next to him making him lose his mind. But when he did, he stayed for almost half a day. At first, he felt like a fool talking to the ground but then he just didn’t care. He wasn’t talking to the ground, he was talking to Marian. Today was one of those days apparently he thought as he arrived close to her. He had a lot on his mind lately and maybe spilling his gut would help making some sense out of it.

He attached his horse nearby and let him rest, he then kneeled close to what could be considered as a grave letting his hand gently brush the rock he put there.

“Marian, i miss you.” He whispered, as if he was scared to be heard. “I’m sorry i don’t come to see you very often but you know me, always the traveller.” He never told Marian the real reason he didn’t dare to come and see her, he never even said it out loud. Robin didn’t know why but he just couldn’t bring himself to, especially not when this was the only way he could still feel a bit close to her. “I’ve had… so many things in my life lately, i thought maybe talking to you could help? it sounds stupid when you put it like that i know, it’s not like i will get any answer.” He took a deep breath. God, the things he’d give up to talk to her one last time, to hear her voice one last time.

“I’ve done things... I’m not really proud of Marian.” And there he started. He clenched his fist, trying to stop himself from just running away and keep everything to himself a bit longer (forever). “I know i promised that i would never help them but… i did. This witch she cursed a wolf, that poor thing and the only way to kill him or to stop him was an arrow in the eyes and his tail removed, i couldn’t let innocent people suffer…” He took a deep breath, happy to be alone for this. “I told John about it and nothing more but the truth is… something else happened that night. I’m not ready to talk about it yet, i hope you can forgive me but i will tell you one day, i promise.” He then sat his back against the rock and looked at the sky. “I should probably also tell you that i met a woman. She’s not… it’s… it’s nothing but i feel something. I know in my heart that wouldn’t blame me but i just can’t let myself admit that i’m attracted to her even though i saw her only a couple of times because i still think about you every day. Before you start thinking how stupid i am, know that no matter what i shouldn’t feel anything but maybe friendship for her. She’s… She’s taken, let’s put it that way. She’s supposed to become the future queen but she wants to run away with the man she loves, kind of reminds me of our story. She caught me a few weeks ago sneaking into the king’s old cabin to warm myself up, she needed help to escape so she asked me. i’m not sure if i just like her because she’s nice or if i actually am attracted to her and i can’t help her if i am it wouldn’t be right to her. Or should i still do it? I won’t see her again after that anyways, she can’t come back here or they are going to find her and either drag her back to the king or kill her for treason.”

He was startled when he heard some noise coming from behind him, he went up and looking around him but he realised that it was only an animal running behind the trees. He should be more careful. True, it does seem like he is alone but he can’t blow Regina’s cover and someone could be there, watching him well hidden and he would miss him and put her at risk.  
He went back to sit close to Marian, deciding to drop the subject. Not that there was much more to say about it but still. He had to be careful. 

“John is doubting me.” He continued, “i’m sure he can feel that i didn’t tell him everything and he doesn’t know if he can trust me. To be quite honest it is a bit painful, he was my first friend, he feels like the brother i never had in a way and knowing that he doubts me… Maybe i should tell him the whole truth? But i don’t want to see him look at me differently or judge me because of it. It’s all so complicated. Emma knows about Re-” he stops himself before he can actually say her name, if someone is listening it would be better if they couldn’t prove he was talking about Regina. It could buy them some time in case of emergency. “She doesn’t know who that woman is and doesn’t know half of the story but… i feel like she doesn’t like it either. I feel like i’m failing her, John, all of them. But anyway, i am not here to complain about a couple of complicated days, i hope wherever you are you are in peace and happy. I truly promise to come and see you more often it’s… it less painful, he thought, we should settle down somewhere not too far from here for a while, it should be easier to come. Once again, i miss you.”

He wasn’t sure if it was talking about things or talking to Marian about it but when he got up and went to the cabin for his meeting with Regina he felt better. A weight had been taken off his shoulders and thank god for it. 

.::.

When Regina arrived at the cabin that day, she hoped that Robin would come. She still wasn’t sure if she actually saw him and if saved her and it made her nervous. The wind outside surely wasn’t helping, it was a cold day, almost rainy and she hoped it would clear before she had to walk back to the Castle. She took some medical assistance, wanting to offer it to Robin in case he would need it, leaving in the forest probably didn’t provide a lot of help if anyone was to be injured and it was the least she could with what he agreed to help her with and the time she was going to ask him to find her mother’s killer.

When she entered the cabin she immediately saw him saw him lighting up a fire to keep them warm and she felt dizzy. Maybe the long walk wasn’t such a good idea so shortly after the accident after all. He quickly said her name and catched her up, they sat next to the fire and that’s when she noticed his hand. He was injured, not badly luckily, but still. 

“What happened to your hand?” she said, always keeping her voice down for whatever reasons.

“I was hunting the other day and i was surprised by my prey so i hurt myself a bit but it’s fine it doesn’t really hurt anymore. How about you? Do you feel better?” He was not talking louder than her. Wait, she wasn’t yet known and she doubted the King would just announced that on their way back from trying to catch a killer him and his future wife had an accident. She wouldn’t dare to hope that she was actually right and he was actually the one who saved her. She needed confirmation. 

“I’m… fine, how did you know?” and then she added for good measure “i can’t imagine people actually talked about what happened since they don’t really know me yet, there are rumors but-”

“You don’t remember?” He interrupted, and in that moment she didn’t mind. “I found you, the day i hurt myself, you were alone but i assumed he was probably there with you before. You were unconscious but you woke up while i was taking you back to the castle so i thought you would remember? They were coming to get you when i arrived so i just helped them find you while i was hidden and then i got back.”

“It was you?” She felt relieved, in a sense. She couldn’t know what happened to her while she was unconscious and she hated not being in control and not knowing. Knowing that someone she trusted helped her was good news. Also knowing the fact that she wouldn’t have been abandoned and that the guards were coming for her was a relief. When she saw Robin nodded, she couldn’t even try to hide her smile. “Thank you, i have no idea what would have happened if you weren’t there…”

“Like i said, there were going to get you” He answered, trying to reassure her. 

“I know nothing about you.” She suddenly said, as if she just realised. “it’s annoying. I kind of trust you, and i’m supposed to, i even… i don’t you’re a friend, Robin but i know nothing about you.” 

“Well then, not today because you’re injured, you need to get back to the castle, by the way i don’t fully understand why you came here today it could have waited, and i need to get back to hunting.” he started, speaking very fast, “But how about everytime we see each other we tell one thing about us? It could help for your escape and we could be friends.”

She was… okay with that, actually. It could still protect her complete identity for a while, at least until she escaped, and she would know that she could fully trust him. Good. That could be good. 

“I’m alright with that actually” she said, smiling, “though i have something to ask you. I need time before i go away. I have some… business to attend to in the castle and i just can’t go before it’s solved. Could you be okay with that? Weekly meeting to plan things, but go slowly to give me time?”

“Of course, we won’t be able to just plan everything in 2 weeks anyway. You’ll just have to let me know when you feel ready to go or when you couldn’t wait any longer and we’ll plan things.”

“Thank you Robin, that’s really amazing and thoughtful of you!”

And then she realised that he was scratching his hand. He was hurt and living in the forest, that couldn’t be good to avoid the infections and other things. She remembered that she brought medical assistance here so if there was any moment she should give him it would probably have to be now.

“I have some first hand medical assistance with me, i thought… i don’t know, you live with a couple of men in the forest it could be useful, we don’t use it in the castle anymore and with everything you did for me it was the least i could do..” She said, putting a hand on his arm, trying to catch his attention away from her eyes. She then went to get it and gave it to him. “Let me try and help you with your hand, it might not hurt anymore but it could get infected.” 

She kneeled next to him and took his hand in hers. He hand big hands. That’s the first thing she noticed. She didn’t know why but when she started to put on the bandages she felt a shiver running down her spine. She took her time to do it, doing her best to avoid him any infections. When it was done, she kept his hand in hers and looked at him in the eyes and felt some sort of trance. She couldn’t think, look away or do anything. She wasn’t even sure if she could breathe. He had handsome blue eyes. She had to give him that. She cleared her throat, not wanting to let herself think for too long about what just happened. She needed to get out. he insisted on sharing some of his meat with her, seeing as she was as pale as Snow but she assured him that she would be fine and have everything she could need in the castle. After a promise to put a flower to her window to show him she made it home safely, he let her go.

When she got out, she stopped breathing for a second. 

His bow and arrow were there. Next to the door and tossed carelessly on the floor (why would he even let it outside easy to find when he could have them with him in case he needed protection?) and the arrows he used were black. Without any reason whatsoever her brain decided that it was the moment she would remember that just a bit further from the cabin there was a lot of roses. For a second she almost doubted him. She didn’t know that man, she didn’t know anything about him except that he was a thief and lived in the forest with a couple of men that were his friends. And then she remembered Snow’s words. The bastard that killed her mother was wearing a hoodie, used a bow and arrow and had a rose on his bow. The worst part was : he had blue eyes. Robin had blue eyes. Beautiful, distracting, deep blue eyes. it couldn’t be him, could it? He wouldn’t do that, she knew better. But then again, she didn’t know him or who he was. She needed to get out of here, she was getting paranoid. he was not the only man in the enchanted forest who had a hoodie, a bow and arrow and blue eyes. Daniel had blue eyes. Her father had blue eyes (Not that her father could use a bow and arrow or was able to commit a cold blooded murder but he did have blue eyes.). Besides, Robin never knew her mother, she was sure if she had met him before or if he knew her she would’ve realised. He had no actual reason to kill someone, even someone as her mother. She would chose to trust him and see the best in him, because he agreed to help when he didn’t have to.

She just hoped she wouldn’t have to regret it


	6. The attack.

Two half of one soul.

Ch. 6 - The attack.

.::.

Robin of Locksley had a crush.

Yes, it had only been a few weeks since he knew Regina and yes, during those few weeks he only saw her four times which doesn’t give a lot of time to try and get to know someone even though they agreed to keep their distance. He should respect that, his mind should get a grip and stop trying to know more about that woman, she’s not for him and even if the circumstances were better for them she has someone so they should definitely not get close. 

Then why couldn’t he stop thinking about her? 

Because you like her, his mind kept screaming at him as much as he tried to ignore it. But he was only supposed to be someone she could rely on during her time in the castle and then help her escape without losing her head in the process, simple enough, why did his heart had to make it all so complicated with unnecessary emotions? oh, how great it would be to just turn it all off for a few moments and be able to get back to his usual business : stealing and giving.

Speaking of which, he should probably get back to his camp. She left to get back to the castle a while ago and he shouldn’t take too long if he wanted to get there before dark. Scratching his head he got up, cleaned up what needed to be not to leave any trace of their afternoon here and left the cabin, taking his bow and arrows on the way out (he shouldn’t have left it there it was the safest way to get caught if any guards were to be patrolling, why did he do this?). 

On his way back, he tried to decide if he needed to talk to his men about the escape plan for Regina or if it was too soon, granted he didn’t have much figured out yet but maybe they could help and he could talk to the not-so future queen about the first idea they could come up with at their next meeting, but on the other hand she did ask for time, saying that she had business to attend to and that she needed to solve before she could go, wouldn’t planning something already be disrespecting what she asked? It was the last thing he wanted. Firstly because she could get him caught whenever she wanted to and send guards to one of their meeting instead of coming herself, secondly because he cared and if she asked for time then time she shall get. After all, he wasn’t really lying to anyone he just wasn’t telling them what was happening… Then why couldn’t he help but feel guilty? He was hiding this secret from them for their own good not just because he wanted to keep it from them.

His mind full of guilt and his body tired from walking, he arrived close to his camp. Since he was expecting his men to be up and even having lunch at this time he was surprised when he saw no one and a deafening silence filled his ears. Most of the tent were completely opened and from the looks of it, empty. The wind brought to his nose the scent of blood and that’s when his careful and light steps turned into running, he looked in every tent and luckily found all of them in the biggest one, the one they used to have dinner when it was raining. He was feeling relieved when he spotted Emma face coming directly in his direction.

“Where the hell were you?!” she started, obviously angry at him as she clenched her jaw and fists and her eyes widened. He had been gone a few hours only and true he used to spend all his time with them but it was definitely not a reason to be mad at him.

“I went… hunting, what happened? Why are you all here and why are you mad at me?” He said, looking genuinely confused.

“What happened is that we’ve been attacked Robin, look around you most of us are injured and some barely made it alive!” Her voice was raising, which was not a good sign. He took in her appearance and realise that the long creamie dress she was wearing had blood all over it and some was dripping from her hands and he visibly paled. Worried washed over him. While he was in the cabin with his crush trying to get her attention, his friends were under attack and he wasn’t there to help. Well, if he wasn’t feeling guilty before he completely was now.

“You saved them?” was all he could even ask. Thousands of questions running through his head, who attacked them? why? when? were they safe and sound now? did they lost anyone? But he didn’t ask the questions. He knew now was not the time and he would have to first ensure that everyone was safe and recovering before he got the explanations he needed. First, he had to catch up with the rest of his men and help as much as he could and that meant knowing what had been done already to not lose time. 

Emma looked at him in a mixture of shock, pride and sadness, she had hoped that he wouldn’t doubt her ability to save their camp in times of need, though she still felt proud of what she did. “Yeah, i did.” She answered after a few seconds of silence, “Look, there’s nothing more to do here how about you try and get us some help? We got it covered for now but we’re going to run short on any sort of medicine so if there’s anything you can get us that could help..;”

Right.

She didn’t want him here, she was still mad at him.

Knowing he was at fault, just took a last glance at his surroundings and hoped that all his friends would make it, the stench of blood and the sound of pain starting to make him dizzy he just nodded at Emma and got out, trying to think about something or someone that could help them to get medicine.

.::.

Regina didn’t inherit much from her mother, that was a known fact.  
In many way, they had been completely different. Cora loved precious items, fame and attention. She had always cared a lot about her image and what people may think of her, judging that to be respected you had to be better than everyone and appreciated or feared by most of them. She never cared if she had to step on someone’s toes to reach the top or if anyone got hurt by her words or actions, only caring that it was for the best. Regina, on the other hand, was the exact opposite. All she ever wanted in her life was to be happy, find someone she loved and have a good life which, for her, didn’t necessarily include being rich and noble. Sure, she like pretty and precious things such as a pricy necklace or a beautiful dress but if she didn’t have it, she could still imagine herself being happy and satisfied. 

There difference had in the past been source of a lot of conflicts, both of them had an incredible temper that they were struggling to contain. Sometimes though, they failed and even though Cora tried her best to look like a good mother and make Regina think she was sometimes she couldn’t control herself. it was rare, those days when her mother raised her hand on her and punished her for being stubborn or disrespectful and the brunette kept trying to forget about it but it was not an easy task. When her mother died, grief had taken over and to this day, the need to get a revenge for her mother’s murder was still burning inside her, but now that she was getting better about it, she realised how wrong her actions had been and she swore that no one would ever touch her without her consent ever again. 

But that was before tonight.

Haunted by the knowledge that the King knew something about Cora’s death and didn’t tell her, Regina decided to not go to the ball they were both invited too hoping that it would be enough for him to realise that something had been wrong. He noticed. 

When Leopold came back home that night, he went straight to her apartments, not even bothering to take off his coat, she should have known this was unusual of him. When he spoke to her, she shivered right away. Even though she never liked him, she never heard him speak that coldly or with that much anger in his voice before and for the first time since she moved in the castle she was scared. The man that forced her to get through the wedding and made her leave her home without even saying goodbye was back, safe to say she didn’t miss him.

“Why didn’t you come to the ball?” He asked, slowly insisting on every word. “Do you have any idea how humiliated i was? I had announced myself and the new Queen and i came alone! This is embarrassing!”

“I’m sorry,” she answered not expecting this kind of statement. Surely he would care about the reason why she didn’t come, at least a little bit? “I just… wasn’t really in the mood for a ball or to dance that is all.” Faking a smile hurts, if anyone ever wonders she thought, it hurts. Not just physically, it feels like your whole body is paralyzed and you have to use all the strength in your body to show the other person that you’re okay. Except you’re not.

“Not in the mood?” Leopold said, laughing and raising an eyebrow, crossing his hands in front of his body. “You seemed perfectly fine to me dear.” When he took a few steps toward her, she couldn’t help but move backward, her back hitting the wall. 

“I was, but…” Could she really do that? Confront him about the lead he didn’t mentioned to her? Yes she could. She had to. “I found out rather accidentally that there has been a lead in my mother’s case.” Why was her voice shaking? She wasn’t doing anything wrong, she did ask him to let her know if anything came up and he didn’t. “I’m sure you can understand that it got in my head, along with the fact that i wasn’t told by you.” The statement surprised him, if him taking a few step backs and turning his back to her for the longest seconds of her life was any indication, which allowed her to take a few of her own.

“Ah, yes if i recall you did ask to be informed of any new development in your mother’s case.” he had started, finally turning around to face her again “i do apologize for that.” She had to give it to him, he did seem sorry. She didn’t know why she was still scared then, but suddenly her hands didn’t want to be left alone, her lips were quivering and his closeness too real for her to block out. “Are you alright dear? You do seem a little flushed.” He asked, in his so cold yet so haunting voice.

“I am fine, just a bit tired this is all.” 

If someone ever said to Regina that one day she would be grateful for her mother’s lessons about how to wear a mask and not let emotions show, she would not believe them and probably run away. But here she was, thanking god that she wasn’t giving away just how scared she was. She didn’t know why really, she just.. had a bad feeling. Leopold had more than a bit to drink tonight and that ball lasted longer than usual, he wasn’t used to being extremely nice to her even sober, maybe that was the reason of the bad feeling she had? 

That’s what she hoped for, until his lips came in contact with hers while one of his hand was on the back of her hand, holding her close and his other hand on her back, too close to her butt for her liking. She tried to push him away, but really he was stronger than her so it took her a few seconds to suceed. “What are…” she started, but her voice was simply not working. She blinked back the tears she could feel in her eyes and took a deep, gathering the courage she needed. “What are you doing?”

She should have expected his answer, it shouldn’t have felt like all the pain she ever felt in her life was coming back all at once but it did. “My husband’s duties. You should maybe do the same dear.” Her blood was frozen, her head was pounding and she wishes she knew magic to be able to just disappear. Unfortunately, that couldn’t happen. She panicked when she saw him getting once again closer to her, holding her and it was nothing inappropriate at least not yet nevertheless she still felt like vomiting. As she was trying to back off, she followed her and she couldn’t understand why it felt like he was the one to push her when she was the one trying to get away. When her back hit the wall, the sensation was the same as if someone knocked her in the chest and all air had been stolen from her lungs. 

He was still coming closer. She mouthed no as much as she could but her brain was turned into jello, she had no voice, he couldn’t hear her and was probably thinking she wanted this as much as he did but no, god no.

Regina tried to think about something else, to pretend that it was someone else, after all even if she could escape it tonight there will come a time where she was supposed to give him an heir and that couldn’t happen if she avoided him until his death. Unfortunately, tricking her brain didn’t work, she felt stupid for thinking it would and that probably was the moment she realised that he was not going to stop and she didn’t want this, she didn’t want him kissing her neck, his hand barely touching her thigh and his words in her hear. She took matter into her own hands, pushed him as hard as she could and succeeded in taking him off her. Leopold landed almost on the ground, cursing under his breath, surprised that she had enough strength for this.

“You may have escaped it until now but you should think about this”, he said, out of breath, still not standing, “no matter what you want, you and i are going to be married soon and even though i may enjoy more than you do i assure you i don’t have much more will to lay with you than you with me.” he sighed, placing his crown properly on his head again, “my heart still belongs with my wife, as yours belongs with that man of yours.” 

If only he knew, thought Regina, if only he knew how unsure she had been of her feelings for Daniel this past few weeks, he wouldn’t say something like this, he would know that it was not the reason she didn’t want to sleep with him. 

“Regardless of each other’s feelings dear, the people, the tradition of our land both need us to give birth to an heir.” She knew he was right, she had known it since the moment her mother forced her to marry the King, she had been foolish to think she could escape. Without Daniel, she had nowhere to go anyway; she had been raised to be a well-mannered, proper and elegant lady, not to be a thief living in the forest tossing weapons made of wood at bunnies. She wouldn’t be able to survive alone, she knew that, if she didn’t find a solution before the wedding happened she would never get out of here and she would have to carry a child, a boy, to be the King’s heir. 

She had been so lost in her thoughts she never realised the King kept talking, slowly, as if to raise the point that no matter what, they would have to lay together one day and to him, it did felt like ripping off a bandage, fast and painful rather than slowly and even more painful. “Regina dear, i won’t force you. At least not tonight. But you have to realise that one day or another, it will have to happen even if that’s not what we want.”

The words he whispered felt like a knife in her stomach. She had to get out of there, before the wedding, or she would be lost forever. She moved to her bed as the King left her room probably to go to his own and manage to get some sleep, she wouldn’t be surprised if he succeeded with the amount of alcohol in his system. On his way out, she felt him put a hand on her ass, shamelessly touching her without her consent. She shivered when he let out a moan at the feel of her. The next thing she knew, the door was closing and frozen in place she felt tears running down her cheeks. She had been so lucky. 

.::.

That night, Regina had tried to sleep. She had. But the feeling of Leopold’s hands on her body, the memory of his words in her head and his breath on her neck almost succeeded in making her sick. So got up, wanting to clear her thoughts in the garden. Since the first day she ever came in this Castle, the gardens were the only place she truly liked. The King had been generous about that, allowing her to help taking care of plants and to learn how to grow some. 

She probably should’ve been more careful.

She didn’t even had time to actually reach the garden that a pair of big hopeful and green eyes met hers. Snow.

Regina had no idea what she was doing here in the middle of the night instead of sleeping but here she was. 

“Regina?” She asked, as soon as she saw her. There was a balcony on the hallway that lead her to the gardens, for a second, the older woman thought about bracing herself against it. When did she start disliking that little girl that much?

“Yes dear?” she still managed to get out, in a breath. “Shouldn’t you be sleeping?” her voice cracking, her smile as fake as a smile could be on her face. If the youngest girl noticed, she didn’t say anything and she felt grateful for that.

“I couldn’t sleep and i was thirsty, are you alright?”

Was she? 

No, she wasn’t.

But could she tell the girl her father practically assaulted her, forced her to sleep with him, all of it for his own benefit while he pretend to care about what his people wanted? 

She couldn’t do that either. As much as the little girl got on her last nerves, she still had a fondness for her, an instinct to protect her. Lying it was then. “I’m fine dear, i just had a bad dream and came here to clear my head.” 

“I’m sorry” Said Snow, pouting. “My father always says that when you have a bad dream, you need some cuddles and jokes.” The only mention of her father brought tears into Regina’s eyes, after what happened that night, she knew that there wasn’t a chance she could not get away and stay alive at the same time, he made her live a nightmare and his daughter would know nothing of it. She was startled when the princess took her hand and talked to her again, “would you mind walking me to my chamber so we can do that?”

The distraction was a welcomed one, so Regina accepted, nodding and for the first time of the evening, a somewhat genuine smile came across her face as they walking hand in hand to the princess’s bedroom.

.::.

When she came back to her chambers that night, the last thing Regina expected was to see Robin here, the face pained and with blood on his hands. He was still wearing the same clothes he had when she left the cabin, but this time they were dirty, covered in blood too.

Fear gripped her stomach and her eyes widened. “Robin?” She whispered, she wished could scream and shake him, yell at him to tell her what happened but she knew if the guards found him here, covered in blood or not they would have him arrested. She settled for whispers. “What happened?! Are you alright?” Running to him, she put one hand on his chest and let her other one get lost in his hair, frantically eyeing his body to make sure he wasn’t seriously injured. 

But Robin, being Robin as always, was quick to reassure her. “I’m fine love, i’m not hurt.” He said while taking her in his arms, crashing her against him the fear of losing her winning over what was right or wrong. 

They stayed lost in each other’s arms for a few seconds, breathing each other in before they broke apart. It was as if time had stopped, with a faint smile on her lips Regina asked again the question that couldn’t leave her mind, “What happened Robin? Why are you covered in blood?”

“It’s not mine,” he answered, “When we were at our place this morning…” And she could just hug him again, he had know that he couldn’t speak the place they met because it would then be too dangerous for them both to go back there, especially if she ran away. “I’m not sure yet why or what exactly happened but my men got attacked by the King’s guards, some of them are severely injured, i’m sorry to come and ask this of you but, do you maybe have some medicine you could help us with?” The concern in his voice was so genuine Regina could see how guilty he felt and how much these people meant to him so she decided that she was going to help them, it was the right thing to do.

“I need my coat” she said, gesturing to Robin the piece of clothing still on the chair she had in front of her mirror. When she saw his frown and confused face, she explained, “I’m coming with you-”

“No.” He interrupted her, “it’s too dangerous for you, you don’t know what could happen you could get caught, i am not about to risk your life for this, i will go back by myself-”

“Robin.” It seemed they weren’t letting each talk tonight. “It would not be possible you couldn’t possibly avoid all the guards in the Castle-” He opened his mouth to speak, but she didn’t let him, she couldn’. “No, you can’t Robin because the King got drunk tonight and the security is reinforced every time that happens in case someone would try to do something against him, besides, you need someone to help you decide which medicine to take and you know i have skills.” When she saw him sigh, she knew she had a point and he was about to cave, a faint smile appeared on her face, knowing he wouldn’t try to argue against her anymore. “Stay here, i will go back in a few minutes with what we need and then we will go, how did you come?” She said, taking one of his hands in hers.

“I…” Finally relieved that he would get what he needed to help his friends, Robin felt his emotions starting to get out of control. Fear, stress, relief, guilt, all at once were fighting a war inside his body and there was nothing he could do to stop it. “With my horse.” He finally said, “I don’t know if-”

“I will take mine,” Answered Regina, knowing that he probably wasn’t really in the mental state of talking right now, when she saw him smile softly with tears in his eyes, she knew she was right. After a last glance at him to make sure that he was okay, she left the room and left him alone to process his thoughts. It only took her a few minutes, thanks to her inhability to go out when the King was here, she now knew her way into the Castle. When she came back, they didn’t say anything, just got on their way but both knew that they needed each other that night more than they ever did before.

As they reach the way out of the castle, Robin looked at Regina and started to realise the red marks under her eyes and the way she was holding herself, too high and perfect to be natural. he had felt that something was wrong since the moment he laid eyes on her that night but was too lost in his own feelings and guilt to really notice it. Now that they had time though, now that she couldn’t escape him, he got their horses closer and took her hand, asking her “are you alright Regina?”

“Fine.” She said, snapping and colder than he expected. Cold as ice.

“Could you maybe not lie to me? we both know trusting each other will be needed to help your situation and the one that is waiting for you.” It was true, as their horses tried to see and find their way through the dark and thick forest, he didn’t let go of her hand, he could pretend it was a way of not losing one another but truth was he just didn’t want to let go. 

“Alright but…” She took a deep breath, to give herself the courage to talk to him he knew that. “Not right now? Please?” 

He wouldn’t have forced her to talk about whatever it was that was clearly bothering her, but the crack of her voice and the sound of fresh tears in her eyes and voice convinced him to not only leave her alone but to also be the friend she desperately needed tonight and to distract her as much as he could 

.::.

“Mother i don’t want a new Stable Boy you know that!” said Regina, this time, she was the one to raise her voice. They almost reach their destination when Cora decided to change her plans and have Regina meet her new teacher alone. Obviously her daughter who was all dressed up for the occasion with her blue riding jacket, her braided hair and her cream riding pants wasn’t all to happy with the situation. 

Well, she would have to deal with it. Regina knew that. Her mother, being the heartless woman she’s ever known had apparently decided to fire the old Stable Boy that taught her everything she knew with the only excuse that he was taking a too big interest into her. The brunette was fuming it felt like her mother was trying everything she could to have her stay alone and isolated from the rest of the world. Her worst thoughts became true when she heard her mother speak again. “But you do want to ride, don’t you Regina?”A breath, two, as she was arranging her dress, Cora kept her eyes on her the whole time, knowing that she couldn’t win this time. “I know you do. That other man was too hung up on you, i couldn’t let that happen, you need to focus on your goal : find a suitable husband.”

“Mother, i am eighteen, i have time and even if i didn’t, i didn’t want to date August i just wanted to learn from him!” She says, trying to hide just how annoyed she is.

“But he wanted you Regina, wasn’t it clear? Now end of this useless conversation, follow me, your new teacher is right here taking care of Rocidante.” She added actions to words as they reach their destination, Cora opened the doors and suddenly appeared the new family Stable Boy. 

Damn.

He was handsome.

Regina had never been the kind of young girl obsessed with boys and in awe every time something a tiny bit manly crossed her road, on the contrary she even came to the point of wondering if she was even attracted to them, now she had her answer. His blue, deep, clear eyes, she knew it was cliché but she wanted to drown in them. He was tall, not too tall that she had to raise her head to see his beautiful eyes, but tall enough. 

All of these physical bonus didn’t hide the way his eyes checked her out as soon as he could even see her. He may be attractive but Regina couldn’t help but shiver. Would it be polite to ask him to stand somewhere and let her look at him without him actually getting anywhere close to her?

“My ladies, Good morning, i hope you had a pleasant night?” He asked. His politeness should be something that went into his favors but it wasn’t, mainly for how it was easy to see just how he actually didn’t care of their answer. 

“We did, thank you for asking.” Answered her Mother, yes at least one of them liked him, or had some sort of twisted respect anyway. As Cora came closer to the horse, she started to speak again “I trust my husband told you everything you need to know about my daughter’s lessons?”

“That he did Ma’am, i hope she will enjoy them i have been working on it since i have been informed that you chose me, which i am still honored about, of course.” What was wrong with her? Here he was, being perfectly polite and even charming and she kept having this bad feeling about him. And okay, she hadn’t completely forgot how attractive he was. “And you are Regina i assume?” He said, turning to her.

“Yes, i am, pleased to meet you, Daniel i believe?” She said, shaking his hand and smiling at him as genuinely as possible.

“You two will start making acquaintance another time,” started Cora turning to Regina, “we have somewhere to go dear, Daniel?” Regina was stunned, not only did her mother remember the name of one of her employees but she was actually smiling at him? When Daniel answered in acknowledgment, she continued. “You will start tomorrow, don’t be late my daughter is a very busy lady.”

And they left. 

This had been interesting. 

.::.

The smell was the first thing Regina noticed when they arrived at Robin’s camp. If she had to describe it, she would probably use the words death, blood, chaos. Which, if she thought about it, all were the perfect words to describe the scene she had in front of her. She didn’t had time to truly observe the place that got attacked, thankfully, they sprinted toward the the tent in which everyone had been hidden. They hadn’t even placed a foot in the tent that a tall and blonde woman walked toward them and the brunette could tell : she was pissed.

“Really Robin?” She said, slapping him on the shoulder, “We need help here and all you could think about was looking for a woman?” Now she was raising an eyebrow in Regina’s direction. “If you need to get laid you could have at least waited until it was dark outside! Some people are suffering here!”

Oh. Oh.

She thought Regina was a common whore, probably. She was about to defend herself when Robin spoke for her. “Hey, Emma no, that’s not what you think. She isn’t… it’s not… This is Regina.” He said, pointing to her, a smile on his face. Smile which Regina couldn’t help but give back. “She’s my friend.”

“Wait, The Regina?” Suddenly the blonde woman whose name was apparently Emma was whispering, well Robin may have shared some part of their story with someone it seemed. “The one you want to help but can’t tell me how?” 

Knowing that Robin hadn’t broken her trust actually felt good to know for Regina.

“Yes, that Regina, she knows stuff about healing and she has medicine, don’t ask how or from where, she can help that’s all you need to know.” The guilt the brunette had seen in his blue eyes had come back suddenly. Which, of course, wasn’t a surprise given how many of his men had been hurt while he was out with her.

“It’s true,” she finally said, “i can help, i know you don’t trust me and probably won’t for a while but we can resolve that later, i can give you the medicine and you can give it to them, if it works with you? Or i can test it on myself first, if you prefer? I took enough for this, i didn’t expect to be trusted that easily.” Could she talk any faster? She didn’t know. She also didn’t know why she was so nervous, yes, Emma was the friend of her friend and she was beautiful, seemed smart and probably knew a lot about many things but she was still a woman, just like her with probably a lot of issues they could work together. Which, the other woman seemed to realise too if her faint smile was any indication.

“No need for tests,” she said, “you’re Robin’s friend i’m going to trust his judgement. Thank you for helping, now let’s get to work i put the most hurted one in the back and the least one can help us give the medicine to everyone.”

With that, without more words, they got to work.

.::.

When she felt two hands on her waist and someone smelling her neck, Regina flinched at first. That is, until she realised who the hands belonged to. Daniel.

When she took the medicine, she couldn’t help but think that he would want to know about this so she found a piece of paper and a bird and wrote him a letter explaining the whole situation, inviting him to come and see her the next day.

Apparently he couldn’t wait.

How did he even know where was Robin’s camp? He probably followed the marks they left on the ground, Robin and her hadn’t been particularly careful about that. But if Daniel had found them, maybe the guards would too? No. No Daniel wouldn’t let that happen, he probably erased their traces as he was following them.

She turned around to look him in the eyes, she could see was tired and worried about her, which was probably the whole reason he came here. Other than that, he seemed fine and content, a smile was on his lips and she decided to kiss him. It wasn’t that she even wanted to, but she had to apologies. Since she had moved into the Castle, the only time they had spent together all they could talk about was her escape and Robin, she did feel guilty about that. As the memory of that evening came back into her mind, she could see that Robin had spotted them and was walking in their direction. She pulled away from Daniel, smiling at him, her way of reassuring that everything would be alright and when the archer was next to them she introduced them.

“Robin, this is Daniel, Daniel, this is Robin.” she said, “Daniel’s my boyfriend and Robin’s my friend, i am glad that you two are finally meeting.”

“Pleased to meet you,”, said Robin, shaking Daniel’s hand. “Thank you for coming, we do need all the help we can get.”

When Daniel smiled back to Robin, Regina saw in his eyes a tightness that she had never seen before. Was he jealous? That was getting old. She had understood the first time, had even tried to calm him down, but now he had to stop, she had male friends before and she never saw him react that way. The brunette wasn’t a fan of jealousy, never have been. Yes, she had a male friend and yes he was handsome but her boyfriend had to trust her and trust that she would stay faithful to him. No matter if she wanted to or not.

Wait.

Where did that come from?

She had her doubts about her love for Daniel, yes, she had realised that when he sneaked into her room but she also knew that she was not the kind of woman to have an affair. To want to have an affair. Maybe Daniel’s worries were right, she may act too friendly with Robin and that had to stop.

.::.

By the end of the night, Regina was fuming. She had thought Daniel would calm down once she started avoiding Robin but he didn’t, on the contrary. If he was provoking her, then it was completely working and now she was pissed. They had taken care of most of Robin’s friends and Emma was now getting some soup ready and Daniel had just left, hugging Regina and wishing her a good night. She had tried to calm herself down and to tell herself that he was just worried for her but since she first realised the doubts she had about her relationship with him it seemed that all he was doing was proving her right.

When did he become this jealous person?

Was she being paranoid because they didn’t spend much time together anymore? When was even the last time they said i love you to each other? Maybe he had the same doubts she had? Without realising, she found herself sat by the fire as Emma was serving all the people in line. She sighed when Robin came and sat next to her after he got his portion. Her brain was already messy and complicated enough tonight without him trying to make it worse. When she turned to him, he was looking at her with his dimples showing, probably about to thank her once again for coming with him but he shouldn’t, at least the event of the night distracted her from the memory of the King’s hands on her body. She couldn’t realise just how lucky she had been, the best she could do was trying to think about everything else.

“Are you alright?” His voice interrupted her thoughts, she was so lost into imagining what he would say she didn’t even expect him to actually talk. But he did. It took her a minute to realise that she still needed to answer him. 

“I’m fine, sorry you just… caught me off guard.”

“I’m sorry for saying so Regina but you don’t seem fine.” He had to stop that. He had to stop acting like he could read her like an open book or like he knew her entire story because she would not be able to handle it.

“I’m… Robin, we’re friends now right? i mean we can talk to each other, without judging?” That was a bit unexpected, she had never talked to anyone about her relationship with Daniel and she was about to do it with the only person he was worried about… That wasn’t her best idea. But as much as Daniel may not like it, Robin was her only friend and she was not about to keep everything to herself just because he didn’t like him.

“Of course,” Bless him, he was willing to listen. “Go ahead.”

“It’s just… i have been with Daniel for the past two years, we hid from… he had to hide, let’s leave it at that.” She may trust Robin, he may be her friend, but she wouldn’t risk their safety by telling him everything and especially not right now in front of all his friends. Granted, most of them weren’t listening but still. “But lately he’s been acting weird, jealous and just… weird. It made me think and… i don’t... “ She took a deep breath. She had to say it out loud, it would clear her thoughts and help her to make a decision. “i don’t know if i still love him.” There. She said it. These thoughts that had been haunting her for weeks now, they were out in the open.

“Regina, it’s alright. Not everyone you care about is meant to be the person you live the rest of your life with.” He was sweet, so sweet. Trying to escape the Castle was a good idea, but doing it with Robin? She felt lucky to have met him.

“I know but… he’s never been like that, you know? Tonight just made me realise that this was not the Daniel i love. Or loved.” She said, as she picked up a piece of wood and throwed it in the fire, a way for her to center herself. “I care about him, a lot, but do i love him? I don’t think so, not anymore at least.” And what was Robin’s secret power to have her tell all her feelings in a minute? “I think i have to leave him.” 

It felt like a stab in the heart. Regina wished it could be different but she now knew she didn’t love him anymore. It wasn’t just the jealousy, that had been what opened her eyes but the more she thought about them and their relationship, the more she realised that she may have never been in love with Daniel.

“I’m sorry Regina”, said Robin, taking her in his arms as she was sitting down again next to him. She breathe him in. She was going to keep that last thought to herself but there was another reason she opened her eyes about her relationship with Daniel.

Robin.

She always knew he was a good looking man and he had honor, but now that she was spending time with him, she was forced to realise that she was attracted to him and not just in a friendly way. Not that anything could happen anyway, she had to fight this.

For both of their sakes.


End file.
